Montpelier, VT Mary G. Brenneman, 85, of Merrill Terrace and formerly of County Road in East Montpelier, died Wednesday, May 4, 2011 at Woodridge Nursing Home. She was born on April 23, 1926 in Norton, MA, the daughter of Phillip Ambrose and Helen (Whitaker) Gavin. She was a 1944 graduate of the Northampton School for Girls in Northampton, MA. In 1948, she received a bachelor's degree from St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY where she was a member of the St. Lawrence chapter of Pi Beta Phi sorority. Later she achieved a Master's degree in Anthropology from the University of Chicago in 1966. She was a professor at Johnson State College where she taught anthropology and served as President of Faculty Senate. She and her husband Ted also raised dairy goats and dairy cows at their farms in Worcester and Marshfield supplying all the goats milk for Boston, MA at one point. Mary was a devoted parishioner of St. Augustine's Church where she was a member of the Liturgy committee and of the Catholic Daughters and a vital member of the soup kitchen. As part of her work on the Liturgy committee she helped establish the Adoration Chapel, which today thrives. Mary was very active with Food for the Poor, the third largest help giving organization in the nation. As part of her work with Food for the Poor, she went to Jamaica to visit the poor and to learn their way of life. In learning this way of life, Mary's own life was changed. This change opened her heart and she became a giver both in Jamaica and in Montpelier, Vermont. Mary was a avid artist and displayed her water colors in various shows, for example at the City Center in downtown Montpelier. In her spare time Mary was a devoted gardener and had a special knack for growing plants. She also loved to fish and has passed this devotion on to all of her children. In October of 1963, she married Walter "Ted" Brenneman while both were attending the University of Chicago. They lived in Chicago for three years, then returned to Vermont for teaching careers at Marlboro College, Johnson State College and the University of Vermont. She and her husband did research in Ireland on the holy wells, or sacred springs, of Ireland for fifteen years. They took several teams from Earth Watch to assist them in gathering the data. All of this culminated in the publication of a book "Crossing the Circle at the Holy Wells of Ireland", published in 1995 by the University of Virginia press. Survivors include her husband, Ted, of Montpelier; four daughters, Edith Leslie Wheelock and her husband John of Colchester, VT, Tracy Gandin and her husband Dan of Middlesex, Laurie Covington and her husband Steve of Palmdale, CA, and Valerie Whitaker of Wilmington, NC; two sons, Robin Whitaker Wright and his wife Christine of Bailey, CO, and Gavin David Wright and his wife Karen Marie of Essex, VT; three sisters, Sarah See of Jacksonville, FL, Phyllis Robinson of Sarasota, FL and Carol Arnold of Amherst, MA. She enjoyed all 12 grandchildren, 5 great grandchildren, several nieces and nephews and beloved friend, Clare. Calling hours will be held on Sunday, May 8th from 4:00-6:00 pm at the Guare & Sons Funeral Home on School Street in Montpelier. A funeral mass will be held at 11:00 am, Monday, May 9th at St. Augustine's Church. Committal prayers will be offered following the mass at the Doty Cemetery in East Montpelier Center. Memorial contributions may be made to Food for the Poor, 6401 Lyons Rd, Coconut Creek, FL 33073 or www.foodforthepoor.org Those wishing to express online condolences may do so at www.guareandsons.com and go to Mary's obituary.