Mary Barber Breckenridge *76

One of the first women in a program for mature graduate students, Mary died May 5, 2022, in Newtown, Pa., at age 97.

Born in Omaha, Neb., March 4, 1925, she earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1947 from Iowa State University and a master’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Iowa in 1949.

After research positions at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Washington University, she earned a Ph.D. in sociology at Princeton in 1976, then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in biostatistics. Her mentors included John Tukey *39, whose methods of exploratory data analysis she applied in her book Age, Time, and Fertility: Applications of Exploratory Data Analysis. Mary joined the faculty at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (now part of Rutgers). She developed new degree programs, conducted studies of community-based health services, and pursued research in population sciences. She retired in 2000.

A Princeton YMCA Tribute to Women in Industry award commended her as “a role model and mentor for women and men in academia.” She was active in the APGA.

Her husband Bruce, who survived her at the time of her death, died Feb. 19, 2023. Her survivors include three daughters, four grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.