Mary L. Lea
December 11, 1927 ~ November 25, 2012
Photographer/Peace Activist
Mary Louise (Stringer) Lea age 84 passed away on November 25, 2012 at her home in McLean, Virginia surrounded by her loving family with the help of Hospice. Born in Glenns Ferry, Idaho on December 11, 1927, Mary was the youngest of the seven children born to Ruth Lenore Perry Stringer and John Edward Stringer. She is survived by her husband of 63 years, George Lea, three daughters, Nora McCray, Tarey Lea and Diana Lea, as well as six grandchildren and two sisters.
Mary touched many lives with her passion, irrepressible creativity, sense of humor and compassion for others. She called herself, "The Concerned Photographer" and described her camera as her "choice of weapons". Through her voracious appetite for knowledge and insatiable love for current political events, she was anything but complacent to the suffering of others. Always ready to document with her photography she worked tirelessly for peace with Women's' Strike for Peace and The Grey Panthers. She called herself a "professional volunteer" as she generously gave her time and artistic talents to People to People Committee for the Disabled, the Washington Ethical Society Prison Reform, and in raising awareness of the plight of wild horses on public lands in the western US she helped pass the "Wild Horse and Burro Act ". Her creativity was passed on to her daughters who paint, pot, and sew.
Mary leaves behind many amazing photographs and the countless lives that those images have touched. She was a founding member of the Northern Virginia Camera Club and active in the Mclean Art Club, as well as the Daughters of the American Revolution, Freedom Hill Chapter. She was always willing to share her "pictures worth a thousand words". She will surely be missed. A private service for Mary will be held in her home.
Funeral Home:
Money & King Funeral Home
171 W. Maple Ave.
Vienna, VA
US 22180
Mary Louise (Stringer) Lea age 84 passed away on November 25, 2012 at her home in McLean, Virginia surrounded by her loving family with the help of Hospice. Born in Glenns Ferry, Idaho on December 11, 1927, Mary was the youngest of the seven children born to Ruth Lenore Perry Stringer and John Edward Stringer. She is survived by her husband of 63 years, George Lea, three daughters, Nora McCray, Tarey Lea and Diana Lea, as well as six grandchildren and two sisters.
Mary touched many lives with her passion, irrepressible creativity, sense of humor and compassion for others. She called herself, "The Concerned Photographer" and described her camera as her "choice of weapons". Through her voracious appetite for knowledge and insatiable love for current political events, she was anything but complacent to the suffering of others. Always ready to document with her photography she worked tirelessly for peace with Women's' Strike for Peace and The Grey Panthers. She called herself a "professional volunteer" as she generously gave her time and artistic talents to People to People Committee for the Disabled, the Washington Ethical Society Prison Reform, and in raising awareness of the plight of wild horses on public lands in the western US she helped pass the "Wild Horse and Burro Act ". Her creativity was passed on to her daughters who paint, pot, and sew.
Mary leaves behind many amazing photographs and the countless lives that those images have touched. She was a founding member of the Northern Virginia Camera Club and active in the Mclean Art Club, as well as the Daughters of the American Revolution, Freedom Hill Chapter. She was always willing to share her "pictures worth a thousand words". She will surely be missed. A private service for Mary will be held in her home.
Funeral Home:
Money & King Funeral Home
171 W. Maple Ave.
Vienna, VA
US 22180
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My wife Carolann and I were welcomed so warmly by Mary and George when I transferred to D.C. from California over 30 years ago. Mary was especially sweet to our then 16 mo. old daughter, Lauren. She took our photo the first time we were invited to their home and served a wonderful meal. I wish we culd have gottten to know her better in the two short years we were there. So good to have such a fond memory of her. Our sincerest condolences to George and the family.
It is 12/16/2012 (Beethoven’s birthday) as I write this note; just beforehand, I searched the internet for photographer Mary Lea and learned that she passed on last month. I believe it was in the early 1980s, when I first spotted in a shop in Vienna, Virginia, a poster-sized photo of Mary Lea’s “Our Wild One In The Sky.” Soon after, I had the pleasure of meeting Mary for inspirational conversation at her home in McLean. A framed copy of “Our Wild One” has hung in my living room through the years. My heartfelt condolences go out to Mary’s family. -Peter Princiotto, McLean, Virginia