Mary Ann Lincoln

RANDOLPH CENTER—Mary Ann Lincoln, 64, a beloved 34-year resident of Randolph Center, died unexpectedly March 23, 2006, at her home.

Born Mary Ann Marks on Dec. 7, 1941, she grew up in Pleasantville, N.Y., where she rode a bike through quiet streets with friends, learned to cook with her mother, Helen; and gardened with her father, Wayne. She graduated from the Stoneleigh School in 1959, and lived in Washington, D.C., before settling in Vermont in the summer of 1964, living in Barnard and then Woodstock.

She married Edward P. Lincoln Aug. 28, 1971, the second marriage for both, and determined that they wanted to raise their children on a farm, where they could be outside and work and care for animals. They started a Jersey dairy in 1972, gradually building a herd that reached 100, along with dogs, pigs, chickens, and ponies, all of them given individual names. The running joke among her kids was that family videotapes tended to have more shots of the cows and dogs than the children.

She was a gifted writer, once turning down an offer to be part of Senator Albert Gore Sr.’s team of speech writers. Through the years, she penned articles for a number of publications, and composed songs. At the time of her death, she had nearly completed the manuscript for her first book, "Standards of Care."

She was a relentless advocate, organizing food drives, letter-writing campaigns, petitions, welcoming new neighbors with casseroles and pies and a smile. While living in Washington, she participated in civil rights marches, and picketed a store that sold spoiled products. She worked tirelessly on behalf of the Randolph Center Congregational Church, and on behalf of her town. In the late 1970s, she arranged for the purchase of tape recorders for state troopers, to help them document the condition of suspected drunk drivers.

She worked as a real estate broker, often cutting her commission if it meant helping a couple purchase a house, and then greeted the new homeowners with a basket of food.

She loved history, music and politics, and a good debate and a good game of Gin Rummy or Scrabble. Just last year, she fulfilled a longstanding promise to herself and had a window set into the east wall of her kitchen, so she could see the sun rise over the tree line. She adored babies and referred to each of the grandchildren as "Shorty" until the day they were born. Then she sang to them, held them in her lap, and started projects with them that involved sewing, cookies, marbles, drawing. She believed in treating little people, as she called them, with respect, and one of her six grandchildren always seemed to be standing alongside her on a chair near the counter of her kitchen.

She sewed many quilts, her material cut from shirts or pants or dresses her children once wore: wedding quilts, graduation quilts, baby quilts, quilts that are now heirlooms. She made pies, spending hours every August pulling the blueberries off the bushes in the back yard of her house, freezing them for Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts with the neighbors. She drove older neighbors to doctor appointments, volunteered as a patient’s advocate at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, and worked in the Good Beginnings Programs, helping new mothers. She hauled out wayward travelers who got stuck in the significant mud on Crocker Road, with the family’s blue Chevy pick-up truck, her border collie Nell sitting nervously by her side.

She read voraciously, laughed loudly, and despite a neurological problem which seriously affected the last two decades of her life, was an optimist, finding a reason to get up early every morning. She sought the good in everyone she encountered.

Survivors include her husband, Edward Lincoln; two daughters: Hannah Deming, of Keeseville, N.Y.; and Amelia Lincoln, of Randolph Center; two sons: Samuel Lincoln, of Randolph Center; and Buster Olney, of Yorktown, N.Y.; her grandchildren; her brother, James Marks, of Watertown, Conn.; and sister, Betty Dronzek, of Springfield, Ore.

She was predeceased by a sister, Patricia Dronzek; a brother, Robert Marks; and her parents.

A memorial service was held March 26 at the First Congregational Church in Randolph Center. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to: Randolph Center Church, Randolph Center, Vt., 05061; Fund for Military Families, Office of the Adjutant General, Camp Johnson, Colchester, Vt. 05446; or Planned Parenthood, 90 Washington Street, Barre, Vt. 05041.

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