Mary Jean Lindner

She was preceded by her beloved husband of 68 years, Thaddeus “Tad” Alphonse Lindner, in December, 2020, at age 94. They shared their life together in DC, Florida and Maryland, including at Fox Hill in Bethesda, since 2008..

The only child of Richard and Loretto Wellford, Mary Jean was a 4th-generation Washingtonian from a family of farmers, butchers, lawyers, doctors—and spies. Her attorney father, along with her voracious reader and amazing cook mother, both influenced Mary Jean profoundly. Given the fact that her earliest American ancestor was an English-born spy for the Continental Army, and George Washington’s personal physician, it wasn’t much of a surprise when the recently established CIA hired the McKinley Tech Valedictorian (1944) and Randolph-Macon Woman’s College (now Randolph College) Phi Beta Kappa. Mary Jean rose rapidly through the ranks of the male-heavy Agency, from typist to analyst to intelligence officer, recounting non-confidential anecdotes with astonishing detail, 75 years after the fact, like having been surrounded by “crazy OSS types” and racing across DC to hand-deliver a Top Secret document to NSA, giving the armed guard that day’s Password: “Heaven on High.” Evenings and weekends, Mary Jean helped Tad start his company, Colonial Parking; serving as its first cashier. When the Agency approached Tad, because his parents were ardent Polish patriots and he grew up speaking Polish, Mary Jean issued an ultimatum to her then-fiancé: “It’s either me or the Agency; they’ll just drop you into Poland, where you’ll undoubtedly be captured, and that will be the end of you.” Tad wisely stood down. Colonial never would have grown from one location across from the State Department in 1953 to the mid-Atlantic’s largest parking company had Mary Jean not “manned” that first till so fastidiously—and kept Tad from parachuting behind the Iron Curtain.

In 1954, some say she took on a much riskier mission: giving birth to the first of four children, whose adventurous exploits at times were absolutely OSS-caliber.

Mary Jean was a natural athlete who excelled in field hockey, swimming (she coached an Olympian), softball and tennis, but especially loved golf (3 holes-in-one). She also enjoyed playing bridge, and was an innate speed-reader who could blow through a small library of history tomes and Agatha Christie novels in a single week. She had a keen eye for art, be it buying for a song an iconic Wyeth painting in a backwoods antique shop attic, or acquiring the early works of rising artists ranging from Stephen Scott Young to Clarice Smith. However, to her children, in-laws and grandchildren, Mary Jean’s greatest works of art were on display every Christmas: stuffed inside her meticulously and beautifully hand-stitched stockings were the most obscure, useless and kitschy gadgets and trinkets imaginable, clandestinely acquired via her cagey and zealous “sources and methods.”

She was passionate about issues of social justice and equity. Like Tad, she avoided the limelight; she was a work-horse, not a show-horse. A woman of quiet faith, along with Tad and their daughter, she was a long-time parishioner at St. Alban’s Church. Mary Jean served her communities with her time, talents and treasures, focusing primarily on providing educational opportunities to students without financial means of their own, especially young women, especially at her alma mater, where she not only contributed generously over the years but also served as Trustee for 13 years, including as Vice President of its Board. She received Randolph College’s Alumna Achievement Award for her decades of selfless service and accomplishments, and endowed numerous scholarships at George Washington University and elsewhere.

Mary Jean is survived by her four children—Rusty (Mimsy) Lindner of Washington, DC, Gary (Jenee) Lindner of Fairfax, VA, Eric (Ellen) Lindner of Pismo Beach, CA, and Ann Lindner Morrison (Patrick) of Santa Fe, NM; her eleven grandchildren—Thaddeus II, Christopher (Dawn), Matthew, Samuel, Mary Faith and Jones Lindner, Rebecca (Tucker) Clarkson, Blake (Stuart) MacKenzie, Sarah (Varad) Raghuwanshi, and Emma and Colleen Morrison; and her five great-grandchildren—Russell, Palmer and Merrick Clarkson, Siobhan Raghuwanshi, and Parker MacKenzie.

The Lindner/Morrison family wishes to extend their deep gratitude to Mary Jean’s devoted and loving caregivers, most importantly Judy, who was an indefatigably attentive and compassionate companion for over a decade, but also to Ami, Marilyn, Margaret, Elizabeth, Tamra, and Molly; and the entire staff at Fox Hill, who so warmly embraced and supported Mary Jean and Tad for the past 18 years, allowing them to live with joy and dignity during their last chapters. And finally, a shout out to the world’s best canine caregivers, Brew and Sonny, whom Mimsy and Rusty brought by several times a week, who leapt up onto Mom’s bed, and whose tail-wagging, licking and snuggling resulted in great joy and peals of laughter during her final few years.

In lieu of flowers, we kindly request that you pass forward prayers and support to someone or some organization that is important to you. Mary Jean would love that.

Funeral services private.