Mary Osborne Witherbee of Baltimore, Md., and Greensboro, Vt., died peacefully at her home in Maryland surrounded by her children on Sept. 6, 2019 after a long illness. Born in Bronxville, N.Y. on Feb. 23, 1931, she was the daughter of the late Elizabeth Ide Osborne and Stanley de Jongh Osborne of New York.
During her long and colorful life she ran her own interior design business and was one of the first breeders of Shih Tzu dogs in the United States. She was involved in and volunteered at many charitable causes such as a children’s hospital in Baltimore, the tutoring of children in Trenton, N.J., and sat on the boards of Sterling College and the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium in Vermont. She was married three times: to James Bedford Downing, Jr, of Hobe Sound, Fla., from whom she was divorced; to the late Edmund Ruffin Beckwith of Princeton, N.J.; and to the late John Hemenway Witherbee, of Nantucket, Mass., from whom she was divorced.
All who knew Mary recognized her as a “life force” and a woman of passion, with a wicked sense of humor and strong opinions. Her energy and zest for life affected all those close to her. She had a great ability to befriend people of all ages and walks of life. Mary’s great loves were her extended family, her wide circle of friends, her many dogs and her gardens. Mary was devoted to all things Vermont, especially her farm in Greensboro.
She is survived by her four children: James Bedford Downing III (Liz) of London, England; Elizabeth “Lisa” Downing Sartorius of Baltimore, Md.; John Osborne Downing (Francie) of Green Pond, S.C.; and Lily de Jongh Downing (David Yudain) of North Stamford, CT; as well as three Beckwith stepchildren (Ruffin, Jean and David); eleven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her sister, Cynthia Osborne Hoskin of Cold Spring, Ky. and her brother, Richard de Jongh Osborne of New York, N.Y.
The family would like to thank her devoted caregivers Yolanda Addison, Renee Tuck, Iris Rosa and Nancy Githinji. A Memorial Service will be held Saturday, Oct. 26 at 4 p.m. at St. John’s Western Run, Butler, Md. Donations in her memory may be made to the Greensboro Land Trust.
