Mary Lampland Tobin passed away on November 23, 2021. Mary was born on August 3, 1941 in St Paul, MN to Arthur and Margaret Lampland. She grew up in St Paul where she participated in school, church, and Camp Fire Girl activities. After graduating from Central High School in 1959, Mary attended Carleton College in Northfield, MN, graduating in 1963 with a major in English and being admitted to the Phi Beta Kappa Society. She received a MA degree from Columbia University in 1966 and PhD in English at Rice University in 1973. Her dissertation on the Ludus Coventriae earned Mary the John W. Gardner Award in Humanities and Social Sciences.

Mary began working as a Lecturer at Rice University in 1979 and continued until her retirement in 2009. She taught Freshman Composition during the school year and participated in summer outreach programs such as the Catalyst Program and the Honors Premedical Academy at Baylor College of Medicine, the latter being a joint venture with Rice. After retiring, Mary continued to be active at Rice doing volunteer work at the Woodson Research Center, Rice Women’s Club, Rice Historical Society, and the Association of Retired Rice University Faculty.

After retirement, Mary and her husband, Don, also enjoyed the opportunity to participate in hiking trips in New Zealand, the Orkney/Shetland Islands of Scotland and Rocky Mountain National Park.

Mary and her family are long-time members of Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church. At Palmer, Mary taught Sunday school, participated in the Women’s Spirituality Group, the Library Committee, ushering, and helped plan and organize the Dinner and Discussion Group meetings.

Mary is survived by her husband of 56 years, Don, son Jeffrey, daughter Katherine, grand- children Wyatt and Lyla Tobin, Brother John Lampland of St. Paul, MN, Sister Jean Howell of Jonesborough, TN, other relatives and many friends.

A service to the glory of God and in celebration for the life of Mary Tobin will held at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church, 6221 Main St, on February 12, 2022, beginning at 11:00 am. The service will also be livestreamed. The link is domainhttps://palmerchurch.org/live/.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in memory of Mary to either the Endowment Fund of Palmer, Rice University’s Be Bold campaign, or the Friends Fund of Carleton College.

https://palmerchurch.org/give/

https://giving.rice.edu/be-bold

https://www.carleton.edu/giving/annual/