MARY (McGlue) HERBERT-CHENERY: was the beloved mother of four successful children and was the champion of their youth. A Grande Dame who has now gone to rest on August 24th, 2012, her 91st birthday, with the others of our Nation's "Greatest Generation" having served in the US Marine Corps from 1943 to1946 during WWII.

Twice elected Town Clerk/Collector for the Town of Swampscott where she was born and lived for many years, Mary completely revamped the town's accounting and banking practices and was able to achieve record tax revenues and earned income. Prior to that Mary worked on many exciting projects as a City Planning Associate for the Boston Redevelopment Authority during Mayor Kevin White's administration. She was also an administrator for SPNEA, the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities.

The great blizzard of 1978 convinced Mary to move from Swampscott to Naples, Florida where she spent over 20 years as a very successful Real Estate Broker, as well as being very active in many cultural and charitable organizations, including the Naples Philharmonic and the Nature Conservancy and was a primary contributor to the Women Marines Organization.

Thrilled by the birth of her first grandchild, Teddy, Mary relocated to Washington, DC in 1998 and lived in Arlington, VA until 2010. During those years she continued her work with the Women Marines Organization, taking the leadership role of President of the 2002 Women Marines National Convention held in Washington, DC. She was also a long-time member and supporter of the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian, the Boston MFA, the Peabody-Essex Museum and the National Trust for Historic Preservation among others.

Mary had extraordinary energy, talent and dedication, and was able to combine a long and successful business career with being a tireless "Hockey, Football & Baseball Mom" for her 3 sons, Walter, Arthur & Doug, all the way through their college years. She also enjoyed many travel adventures with her daughter Jessica to destinations including Greece and Ireland and Caribbean ocean cruises and wonderful historic tours as members of the National Trust for Historic Preservation to such places as the Historic Plantations of the low country of Charleston, SC, and the private vineyard homes of California's Napa Valley.

Mary's children, Jessica Bevill Herbert of Salem, MA, Walter Bevill Herbert, Jr. of Swampscott, MA, and Douglas Selden Herbert of Arlington, VA watched over her during her final days in Salem and Marblehead. Her son, Arthur Joseph Herbert of Swampscott, MA predeceased her in 1984, as did her parents Hazel (LeBlanc) and Arthur Francis McGlue, and sister Frances M. Bowley, and brother Arthur F. McGlue, Jr. She was also predeceased by her first husband, Walter Bevill Herbert of Richmond, VA and is the widow of Augustine Peabody Chenery who passed away in 1991.

Mary was blessed with two amazing grandchildren: Theodore Russell Herbert, age 14, of Arlington, VA and Vanessa Scarlett Herbert, age 3, of Swampscott, MA. She also enjoyed visits with her step-son, James Bevill Herbert and his wife Sandi, and their children, Shannon, Michael and Madison of Midlothian, VA, as well as occasions with her step-grandchildren, Jennifer Gauthier and her daughter, Madison Gauthier, and brother, Joshua Gauthier. Mary was the greatly beloved aunt of Patricia Wyatt Lawson of Abbeville, SC, Kathleen Herbert Yarbrough of Huntington, WV, and Joseph R. Herbert of Fairfield, CT & Richmond, VA, and the Gardner, MA area nieces: Mary Fogg, Nancy Hazen, and Lee and Robin Bowley. She was the mother-in-law of Gayle R. Herbert, Christine P. Herbert, and Stevan J. Gauthier, as well as the great aunt of 12 and great-grand aunt of 8.

Mary's life was centered around her love of family and friends and she will be long remembered by all whose lives she enriched with her gregarious personality, her extreme generosity, her eternal pursuit of the best of higher education and the arts, and particularly her interest in and support of historic preservation which lives on through her daughter Jessica's award winning preservation work that began with Mary's encouragement and inspiration over 40 years ago.

Mary will be buried at Swampscott Cemetery on Wednesday, August 29th, 2012 at 11:00A.M. with Full Military Honors for her service under the direction of the Murphy Funeral Home, 85 Federal St., Salem, MA 01970. For additional information please call 978 744 0497 or visit www.MurphyFunralHome.com.

In lieu of flowers, those who wish may make contributions to HISTORIC SALEM, Inc., Nine North Street, Salem, MA to help fund important historic preservation projects in Mary's honor.