Mary Green Troutman

A tall, striking, and brilliant brunette, Mary Green Troutman always knew how to make an entrance . . . and when it was time to leave. One year ago, as if she knew we were on the cusp of the tragic and isolating COVID pandemic, Mary closed the final chapter on her remarkable life while warmly embraced by beloved family and friends; aged 75, she succumbed to complications from ovarian cancer on March 8th, 2020.

Born March 3rd, 1945 in Brockport NY, she was the second child of Allen and Ann Green. Allen owned the local Brockport Cadillac dealership and Ann was a nurse. The family enjoyed sailing on Lake Ontario in the summers, and, always an athlete, Mary taught herself ice skating in the winter (including how to jump!) and tennis in the summer. After high school, Mary went to the State University of New York at Potsdam, graduating with a double major BA in Elementary Education and Social Studies in 1967. After teaching one year of elementary school, Mary moved to Boston, attending and graduating from the Katharine Gibbs Secretarial School. A keen student of history and politics, Mary and her best friend, Jane (Portius) Ellsworth, moved to Washington, D.C., where she began her first career in journalism, covering the House of Representatives and Senate as a field producer for CBS News. Mentored by Roger Mudd, who encouraged her to trust herself and her instincts, Mary’s years at CBS and in DC were bursting with historical weight, adventure, and friendship. She cheerfully recounted once scooping Sam Donaldson, the electric energy of Watergate, and the perks of a press pass. A lover of country music, she couldn’t believe her luck when she was invited into a press-only area during Johnny Cash’s historic Bicentennial concert on the Mall in July 1976 -- an event memorialized in a photograph on page B17 of the July 5 Washington Post, showing Mary, camera to eye, onstage, directly behind the band.

On December 3rd, 1978, she married John Troutman, a local real estate developer, and moved to Columbia, Maryland. They had two daughters, Katie Troutman and Annie (Troutman) Youngman. Mary was a loving and devoted mother, pausing her career ambitions to stay home to care for her daughters for several years. Though their marriage ended in divorce, Mary always said, “I still know why I married your father, and I would do it again.” Coming of age during the civil and women’s rights movements, Mary decided to return to school and focus on social justice. After receiving a second bachelor's degree and a master’s degree in Social Work, she began a second career as a school social worker in Baltimore City public elementary and middle schools in 1997. A passionate champion, social work was extremely fulfilling for Mary, who loved helping and advocating for her mostly under privileged students. Among her proudest work accomplishments was facilitating the matriculation of several students to the Milton Hershey School in Hershey, Pennsylvania. She retired from Baltimore City in 2013, but continued advocacy by volunteering for HopeWorks in Howard County, Maryland, an organization that provides support to families affected by domestic violence. One woman who met Mary through HopeWorks shared, “her strength [while] volunteering for domestic violence . . . remaining calm and collected, let my boys and I know that it’s ok to be scared, but the first step, walking away, is and was the most important stand [we] could take . . . [S]he was in my dreams the other night. [S]he was a savior.”

Mary had many passions: tennis, art and sewing, politics, gardening, and travel, to name a few. She could often be found playing tennis multiple times a week and often joined her USTA team at regional and national events. She loved to be active, and tennis kept her moving and provided her with many meaningful friendships along the way. From Spring through the Fall, Mary always made sure her flowers and window boxes looked fabulous. Very creative and artistic, Mary often sketched and she was an accomplished seamstress. She made her own wedding dress, clothed her daughters in adorable bespoke ensembles when they were young, and developed a specialty making gorgeous, custom wedding veils for her daughter, Annie, and many friends. She also loved to travel and often joined her daughter, Katie, on trips around the world. Italy, Turkey, Cuba, Prague and Sarajevo, were some of her favorites! Between those trips she prioritized visiting her small grandchildren in Colorado at least twice a year. Throughout it all, Mary had her finger on the pulse of politics, a habit developed while working at CBS News. Watching the nightly news was mandatory for her.

Mary was diagnosed with stage 3C ovarian cancer in early 2017. She fought her cancer like the determined, fearless woman she was. Facing it head on, she had more living to do, cancer be damned. She was in remission by the fall of 2017 and doing her best to return to life as before. She planned a trip to Italy, visited friends and family, enjoyed workout classes, and many delicious meals with friends. Unfortunately, the cancer came back in 2018 - but as a lifelong lover of fast cars, what better time to buy and enjoy her beloved Tesla? Sadly, her treatment was cut short by a brain hemorrhage in the spring of 2019. In her lionhearted fashion, she made a near-complete recovery from her stroke and was able to live in her beloved home independently. In the end, the cancer had spread, treatment options were limited, and she endured many uncomfortable side effects. However, Mary chose to live life to its fullest in her last six months. She hosted family gatherings, passed time with dear friends, zipped around in her Tesla, and, of course, kept up with politics. She would be heartened to know that our country chose Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, a brilliant woman of color, to lead, and that the annus horribilis of 2020 has given way to greater hope, prospects for justice, and the eager anticipation of a future marked by warm embraces.

Mary passed as she wished, in her home, with her daughters by her side, in the early morning of Sunday March 8th, 2020. She is survived by her brother, Jim Green, ex-husband John Troutman, her two daughters, Katie Troutman and Annie (Troutman) Youngman, her grandchildren Ryan and Lange Youngman, and three beloved grand-dogs, Emerson, Mister, and Captain.

Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, a memorial service has not been held, but plans are being made for a gathering once it is safe to gather and celebrate Mary as she would have wanted.

If you would like to honor Mary, donations can be made in her honor to St. Jude, the Jemicy School, or the Maryland SPCA.