Mary Elizabeth Koether, a researcher, manager and graduate of Mount Holyoke College, was born on June 7, 1929 in East Orange, New Jersey. Her father, Rudolph Koether, was a salesman. She graduated from Clifford Scott High School in East Orange, New Jersey. She attended Mount Holyoke College from 1947-1951 and graduated with a bachelor's degree in international relations. She was a legal guardian to her niece and nephew from 1956-1969 Koether's career involved many different jobs such as being a researcher at Bell Telephone Laboratories, a researcher at the Center for International Studies at Princeton University, a manager and an Army historian. Koether received the Alumnae Medal of Honor from Mount Holyoke College in 1981.
From the guide to the Mary E. Koether Papers MS 0839., 1947-1983, 1947-1951, (Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections)
