Mary Van Vleck Garman died April 28, 2026, at Friends Fellowship Community in Richmond, Indiana, after a years-long struggle with Parkinson's Disease.

She was born April 24, 1949, in Hinsdale, Illinois, to George and Jane Van Vleck. She graduated from Hinsdale High School and Kalamazoo College. While attending the latter, she met David Garman, and the two were married in 1971.

Having become active in the Quaker meeting in Kalamazoo, the two of them decided to attend Quaker Seminary at the Earlham School of Religion together. They then served together as co-pastors of Second Friends Meeting in Indianapolis. Mary would also later serve on the ministry team at West Richmond Friends Meeting.

Mary then decided to return to school. She obtained her Ph.D. from Northwestern University, after which she became a professor of religion at Earlham College. Her distinguished service to Earlham included stints as Clerk of the Faculty and as convener of the Faculty Affairs Committee. She had a special concern for first-generation college students and went out of her way to support them as an adviser and teacher. She also taught at Earlham School of Religion. She was a scholar of Quakerism, especially of 17th-Century Quaker women. After significant archival  work to recover overlooked journals, letters, and documents, she produced, in collaboration with others, a book entitled Hidden in Plain Sight: Quaker Women's Writings 1650-1700. She was also a primary organizer of the International Theological Conference of Quaker Women in 1991. Mary retired in 2016.

Mary is survived by her husband of fifty-five years, David; her children, Sam Garman and Kristy Jackson; her daughter-in-law and son-in-law, Alicia McBride and Brian Jackson; her grandchildren, Mandy Garman, Howard Garman, and Annabelle Jackson; her brother Tom Van Vleck and her sisters Martha Pierce and Sally Van Vleck; her sister-in-law Lilli Filichia and her brother-in-law Denis Pierce; numerous nephews, nieces, grandnephews, and grandnieces; and many treasured friends, valued colleagues, and charmed acquaintances. She was preceded in death by her brothers-in-law Bob Russell, Jim Garman, and Bill McCurley, her sisters-in-law Mary McCurley and Betty Garman, and her niece Hallie Wastell.

The family would like to express profound gratitude to the Courtyards staff at Friends Fellowship and to the Reid Health hospice team.

The family will hold a calling from 12pm to 2pm, with a memorial service starting at 2pm, on May 30th, 2026, in the Community Room at Friends Fellowship, 2030 Chester Boulevard, Richmond, IN 47374. Memorial contributions may be made to the Reid Heath Foundation for Hospice Care, the Earlham School of Religion, or the Friends Fellowship Community Benevolent Care Fund. Stegall-Berheide-Orr Funeral Service is handling arrangements. Online condolences may be shared with Mary's family via the guest book at stegallberheideorr.com.