Mary TraversNovember 9, 1936 - September 16 , 2009
We’re again in mourning on the death of Mary Travers of Peter, Paul & Mary. Although Mary’s death was not a surprise, as she had been battling leukemia for several years, nonetheless it came as a shock to her many friends and fans. She was 72, and died in a hospital near her Connecticut home.
Peter, Paul & Mary were well-known not only for their singing, but also their commitment to social causes including racial equality and opposition to the Vietnam War. Their performance at the August 1963 March on Washington is indelibly inscribed in many of our minds.
Having been formed in New York City in the early sixties, their first album was released in 1962 and won them two Grammy awards. Their success continued throughout the sixties and to 1971, when each of them went their separate ways and pursued solo careers, although they reunited for several group reunion tours and more albums.
Mary was diagnosed with leukemia in 2006 and underwent a successful bone marrow transplant that enabled her to return to performing. Unfortunately, it was only a holding action as the leukemia returned.
Mary is survived by her husband, Ethan Robbins, and two daughters, Alicia and Erika. We extend our condolences to them as well as to Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey.
~Allan Shaw
Statement by Peter Yarrow
"In her final months, Mary handled her declining health in the bravest, most generous way imaginable. She never complained. She avoided expressing her emotional and physical distress, trying not to burden those of us who loved her, especially her wonderfully caring and attentive husband, Ethan. Mary hid whatever pain or fear she might have felt from everyone, clearly so as not to be a burden. Her love for me and Noel Paul, and for Ethan, poured out with great dignity and without restraint. It was, as Mary always was, honest and completely authentic. That's the way she sang, too; honestly and with complete authenticity. I believe that, in the most profound of ways, Mary was incapable of lying, as a person, and as an artist. That took great courage, and Mary was always equal to the task.
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of my relationship with Mary Travers over the last, almost, 50 years, is how open and honest we were with each other, and I include Noel Paul Stookey in this equation. Such honesty comes with a price, but when you get past the hurt and shock of realizing that you're faulted and frequently wrong, you also realize that you are really loved and respected for who you are, and you become a better person. The trio's growth, our creativity, our ability to emerge over the years completely accepting of one another, warts and all, was a miracle. This gift existed, I believe, because of the music itself, which elicited from each of us the best of who we were. When we performed together, we gave our best to each other and to the audiences who came to hear us.
 I have no idea what it will be like to have no Mary in my world, in my life, or on stage to sing with. But I do know there will always be a hole in my heart, a place where she will always exist that will never be filled by any other person. However painful her passing is, I am forever grateful for Mary and her place in my life."
~ Peter Yarrow
Statement by Noel Paul Stookey
"As a partner...she could be vexing and vulnerable in the same breath. As a friend she shared her concerns freely and without reservation. As an activist, she was brave, outspoken and inspiring - especially in her defense of the defenseless. And, as a performer, her charisma was a barely contained nervous energy - occasionally (and then only privately) revealed as stage fright.
Sometimes frustratingly dismissive, I seldom heard her say she was sorry, yet she often displayed an immense generosity that would surprise even herself. Witty, politically savvy, she was the master/mistress of the cutting exit line. Once I was attempting to defend Ronald Reagan's educational policy. She interrupted me with, "Oh for heaven's sake, do your homework!", turned on her heel and walked away. Need I say it turned out she was right?
As the relationships in the trio continued to shift and grow, Mary's insights and evolving comfort onstage drew her into the role of societal commentator and satirist; her genius revealed especially poking fun at the tumbling chaotic communications technology expanding around us.
Her illness softened her outlook considerably. Her work, her life and friends became more and more precious. And friends, especially women friends, closed ranks in the later years, returning in kindnesses so much of that which Mary, their powerful feminine matriarch, had given them.
I am deadened and heartsick beyond words to consider a life without Mary Travers and honored beyond my wildest dreams to have shared her spirit and her career."
~ Noel Paul Stookey
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