Mary Aloyse Firestone

Mary was an artist and information specialist in the fields of environmental and occupational health. Friends recall Mary as a woman of extraordinary acuity who enriched and enlightened their lives. Among Mary’s diverse places of employment were the Bedford Board of Health, JSI Center for Environmental Health Studies, the Harvard School of Public Health Occupational Health Program, the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the University of Massachusetts, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. She took art classes at several renown institutions that included the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and Corcoran School of Art.
Mary educated and advocated to protect people’s lives and preserve the planet. With her colleagues she organized one of the earliest forums on climate change and its impact on public health that was held at Faneuil Hall Boston, MA. An active member of the Unitarian Universalist church in Bedford, MA she was a founding member of the Art Committee curating and exhibiting at many of their art shows. She also belonged to the Concord Art Association. Mary contributed her graphic expertise to the Nature Connection in Concord, MA and volunteered as a certified emergency responder for the town of Bedford.
She is survived by her cousins: Charles and wife Vallie, George in Koppel, PA; Michael and wife Crystal, Cook of Oberlin, OH; and Eleanor Hogsett of Beaver, PA. She will be loved and missed by her good friends, Marcia and Allan Chertok of Bedford, MA as well as many friends in the Unitarian Universalist church of Bedford and across her life and diverse exploits.

You can watch a video tribute of Mary’s art here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XsTLly6U2A8