Mary loved teaching. She was enthusiastic about the English language and that enthusiasm was
reciprocated by students who loved being in her classes. Mary had a life-long love affair with
poetry and many of her students said that it was in her class that they first appreciated the
power and subtlety of written and spoken English. Mary loved her husband Doug, partner with
her in many adventures; she loved her boisterous extended family, and she loved reading,
gardening, and cooking. She had a strong moral compass and was always champion of the
underdog.
Mary was born on May 17, 1944 in Marlboro MA, the daughter of Archie Gilman Haynes and
Rose (Hartley) Haynes. She was raised in Coventry, CT and graduated from Manchester High
School. She first attended the University of Hartford before transferring to the University of
Maryland. After graduation she taught in Annapolis before joining VISTA and working in
Columbus, Ohio. When she moved to the Cape she began teaching at the then newly opened
Cape Cod Tech where she taught for 15 years. During her time at Tech she taught for a year as
a Fulbright exchange teacher at the King’s School, Worcester, England and used a sabbatical
year to earn a Masters degree at Harvard. In 1990 she and her husband Doug Wilcock moved
to Istanbul where they taught for two years at the Koc School. Overshooting Cape Cod on their
return, they taught for three years at the Brearley School, a private girls’ school in Manhattan.
When Mary and Doug returned to the Cape Mary taught ESL at the Hyannis campus of the
community college and in Harwich. In 1997 she joined the faculty of Cape Cod Academy where
she taught until her retirement.
Prior to and during her retirement Mary volunteered her services to a variety of community
organizations. She served on the Brewster Housing Authority and was president of the board of
the Wells Court Brewster senior housing. Mary served on the board of the Brewster Ladies
Library, volunteered at the library, was president of the Nauset Unitarian Universalist
Fellowship, and served on the board of the Brewster Lower Road cemetery.
Mary passed on August 4, 2021 and is survived by her husband of forty-one years, Douglas Wilcock; sisters Alice MacDougall of Garden City, SC and Kathleen Magnuson of Coventry, CT; five nieces and a nephew; two
aunts and an uncle; and thirty-five cousins. Mary always looked forward to spending time with
them at family gatherings that typically numbered in excess of fifty people.