AUBURN – Mary Dutcher Fowler, 100, a beloved presence for all who knew her, passed away on June 30, 2019 in Auburn. Despite her years, she remained young until the end.
Mary was born in New York City on Jan. 12, 1919 to Eberhardine Diez and Col. Basil Hicks Dutcher, MD. After the death of her father in 1922 and her mother in 1927, she was raised in Irvington, N.Y. by her half sisters, Catherine and Carolene Dutcher. She graduated from Smith College in 1941. After serving in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) in New Guinea in 1943, she studied and traveled in Europe on the GI bill before returning to the U.S. to teach elementary school on Long Island. She married Nobel laureate and astrophysicist, William Alfred Fowler in December 1989 in Pasadena, Calif. and later moved to Andover, Mass. where she lived for more than two decades.
Mary, known to us as Aunt Mimi, was a second mother and the cherished dispenser of magic and joy for her two nieces and nephew, and in later years for grandnieces and nephews. She was a gifted artist and worked in water color, oils, acrylic, charcoal, and sculpture. She loved to read, with a focus on history, art, and travel. She enjoyed travel and was an accomplished skier. She was fiercely independent and never shy about sharing her strongly held opinions. She possessed a delightfully sharp sense of humor, which was evident until the end.
She was predeceased by her husband, William Alfred Fowler; and her sister, Nina Dutcher Elias.
She is survived by her nephew, Peter Elias, nieces, Joan Elias and Margaret Elias; stepdaughters, Mary Emily Fowler and Martha Fowler Schoenemann, stepgrandson, Spruce William Schoenemann, step great-grandchildren, Madrona and Bodhi Schoenemann; grandnephews, Michael Baldwin, Ben Baldwin, Nicholas Evans, Jonathan Evans and Joran Elias, grandniece, Gretchen Elias; great-grandnephew, Ciaran Elias, great-grandnieces, Phoebe and Eliza Bakeman. She leaves behind many dear friends, notably Sarah Sloan and Anne Sawchuck.
Her family wants to thank Donna Martel, Linda Curtin, and the staff at Clover Health Care and Androscoggin Hospice for their wonderful support and care.
In accordance with Mary’s wishes, there will be no funeral.
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