Harvard Conservation Trust’s first director, conservation advocate
Marylynn Gentry. (Courtesy photo)
Marylynn Gentry, cherished wife of Chris Riley and beloved mother of daughters Samantha and Meredith Riley, died Dec. 7, with her family at her side, after a valiant struggle with complications from multiple myeloma. Aged 62, she was the daughter of the late Mary Jane and Stokes Gentry of St. George, Vermont. A graduate of the University of Vermont, Marylynn also earned secondary degrees from Pennsylvania State University and MIT.
She served as the Harvard Conservation Trust’s first executive director, from 2010 to 2014. During her tenure, said former Harvard Conservation Trust board member Molly Cutler, Marylynn’s efforts led to an increase in land protection projects and successes for Harvard. Her work with the trust in preserving the Brown land on Murray Lane was a particular point of pride for Marylynn, Cutler said, given its historical interest and connection to other parcels of protected land.
As a resident of Wayland for over 25 years, Marylynn was a dedicated advocate for open space and conservation efforts. She served on Wayland’s Conservation Commission, Community Preservation Committee, and Paine Estate Committee, and held a leadership role with the Sudbury Valley Trustees as board president and board member from 2009 to the present. In addition to her work in Harvard and Wayland, she also served as the executive director of the Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition.
Marylynn’s devotion to the land was formed in her childhood, playing with her brother Brad and sister Sarah on her family’s farm in Vermont and spending many joyous summers and vacations with them, and later with her husband and their daughters, on Bisby Lake in the Adirondacks.
Equal in measure to her passion for the land and its conservation was Marylynn’s commitment to her family and friends. Generous of spirit with her time, her listening ear, and wise counsel, Marylynn captivated all who knew her. In addition to her husband and daughters, she is survived by her aunts and uncle, Carol Emerick and Mary and Dave Call; her brother Brad Gentry (Eugénie) and sister Sarah Tischler (Marc), their children Paige Gentry, Cyrus Gentry (Cecilia), Jacob Tischler, and Ethan Tischler; and many cousins from the Call, Winde, and Riley families.
A celebration of Marylynn’s life will be held Jan. 18, 2020, at 2 p.m. at First Parish in Wayland. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Marylynn may be made to either Sudbury Valley Trustees or Dana Farber.
