Mary Katherine Cabell

Dr. Mary Katherine Huggin Cabell, affectionately known as Mary Kay, passed away peacefully on May 27, 2025 in Williamsburg, Virginia. A brilliant mathematician, devoted mother, and quiet but strong force in her professional and personal life, Mary Kay's life was marked by intellect, integrity, and steadfast love for her family.

Born on March 3, 1934, in Saranac Lake, New York, to Drs. Perry McKown and Katherine Browne Huggin, Mary Kay grew up in Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina. From a young age, she demonstrated an exceptional aptitude with numbers, and her love for logical thinking blossomed into a lifelong career in mathematics.

Mary Kay entered the University of Tennessee as a math major after skipping her senior year of high school, earning her bachelor’s degree in 1955. She then ventured east in her Nash Rambler to pursue graduate studies at the University of Virginia. She received her Master's degree in Math in 1958 and met Randolph Wall Cabell (Randy) on a blind date, marrying him in 1959. She continued to pursue her Ph.D. in mathematics, to the confusion of her peers who assumed she no longer needed an advanced degree now that she was married. She received her Ph.D. in Mathematics in 1960, and was inducted into Sigma Xi, the national scientific research honor society.

After Randy's career moved them to Atlanta, she made history in 1960 at Georgia Tech as the first full-time female instructor—described at the time as the “slim young woman from Tennessee” who boldly stepped into an all-male math class, breaking longstanding tradition. After they moved to Northern Virginia, she spent two decades teaching mathematics at George Mason University, retiring in 1989 as an Emerita faculty member. Her influence lives on at GMU through the “Mary K. Cabell Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Student in Mathematics,” established in her honor upon her retirement. Mary Kay was a dedicated and passionate educator who found great fulfillment in teaching calculus and mentoring students from all walks of life.

Mary Kay and Randy raised five children in Northern Virginia, devoted to their children and each other throughout their 64 years together. They also shared a commitment to each other's professional and personal interests. While Randy was the stand-up musician at a party, Mary Kay lit up the room with her smile.

She embraced life with quiet grace and tireless devotion, raising five children, maintaining a full-time academic career, supporting her husband’s many pursuits, and still finding joy in planning global adventures, sewing and quilting, and solving puzzles. She never sought recognition for her gifts, whether solving a brain teaser in record time or outmaneuvering opponents in quiet competition, often when they didn’t even know they were competing. She and Randy were long-time members of the Episcopal Church and she served as treasurer for multiple congregations across Virginia.

Mary Kay was preceded in death by her husband, Randolph Wall Cabell, in 2023. She is survived by her five children: Mary Elizabeth Cabell, Katherine Cabell Terlesky (Mark), Randolph Huggin Cabell (Karen), Martha Cabell, and Margaret Cabell Metts (Jobe); fifteen grandchildren; and ten great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her sister, Perry Dyke, and her brother, David Huggin. Her family takes comfort in knowing that her legacy—rooted in compassion, intellect, and quiet courage—will continue through generations of students, children, and grandchildren inspired by her life.

The family wishes to thank the dedicated staff at WindsorMeade Retirement Community for their loving care of Mary Kay. A service celebrating her life will be planned for a later date. If you are so inspired, please make a donation to the charity of your choice in honor of Mary Kay.