October is Queer History Month and today we’re honoring the late Mary Leno, a long-time resident of Cambridge, who passed away on September 4, 2025.
Mary was born on November 11, 1940, in Ipswich, MA, where she lived throughout her high school years. Mary worked hard for social justice. She was active in advocating for the LGBTQ community, low- or no-income people, women, and housing justice. Her work for equal rights and dignity for the LGBTQ community earned her a special award from the Cambridge City Council at the city’s annual Pride Brunch. She was a lifelong lesbian. She was a strong advocate of housing for all, and initially moved to Cambridge because the city had rent control.
Mary worked for the Cambridge Commission on the Status of Women for 20 years. She was the cornerstone of Cambridge Women in Cable, a collective that produced programming about women’s issues, perspectives, and experiences, at Cambridge Community Television from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. She starred in a skit called Ladies Against Women Against AIDS with her long-time partner, the late Betty Furdon, and another friend, dressed as conservative older women discussing the AIDS epidemic. She initiated the weekly BeLive series Women in the Arts, Women in Labor, and Women in Health.
Mary recently participated in the Lesbian Coffee Shop hosted by Lesbos, a lesbian-centered community organization. View an excerpt from that talk here:
She was active with and volunteered for the Cambridge Women’s Center, the Women’s School, Food for Free, and the Eviction Free Zone. Mary took great pleasure driving her friends and neighbors places through her self-named Senior Lesbian Urban Transport (S.L.U.T.).
Mary was a daily visitor to Graffiti Alley in Central Square with her step-dog Al and his successors Desi, Bella, and Rosie. One of her photos was chosen for the 2025 Cambridge resident parking sticker.
She was a photographer and chronicler of social movements. For many decades she photographed graffiti, and later added protest signs and protest t-shirts. Her vast political button collection (the Mary M. Leno Button Collection) is archived at the Cambridge Public Library and Northeastern University.
Mary would like to be remembered for having a good sense of humor and wrote her own obituary:
She was born and then she died.
So long, it’s been good to know you.
All are invited to a Celebration of Mary’s rich life on Sunday, October 19th from 1-4 pm at Sonia at the Middle East Restaurant in Cambridge, 480 Massachusetts Avenue, entrance on Brookline Street. Donations may be made to Just A Start (justastart.org).
