Mary Dudley

Mary Lillian Dudley, a Philadelphia native who became a noted graphic designer for the National Gallery of Art and for the United States Information Agency, as well as a historic preservation activist in Waterford, Virginia, died July 9 in Philadelphia. She was 75.

Ms. Dudley grew up in Swarthmore, and graduated in 1969 from Swarthmore High School, where she starred on the varsity teams in field hockey, basketball and lacrosse, co-captaining the hockey team. She maintained close relationships with many Swarthmore classmates throughout her life.

After attending Western College in Oxford, Ohio, Ms. Dudley graduated from Philadelphia College of Art in 1980 with a Fine Arts degree. As a graphic designer at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., she won many awards including a Certificate of Merit in the 42nd annual Graphic Arts Exhibition of 1984.

She later worked for the U.S.I.A. designing informational displays for developing countries. She often told of her first trip to Africa, where, upon landing in Kinshasa, she wondered why passengers were shoving to be first off the plane, and then saw that the luggage — including bundles of pots and pans wrapped in colorful cloth and even an unboxed washing machine — was being thrown onto the tarmac in what looked like a marketplace bazaar. Her recounting of this event was so funny and memorable that it became legend in the U.S.I.A., a cautionary tale about situational awareness in distant cultures.

A lively personality with a lightning wit and a fondness for clever word play, Ms. Dudley made friends wherever she went. In 1974, invited on a sailing trip at the last minute, she met the boat’s owner and captain, Armand Russell Versaci. They married in 1977 and divorced in 1995. Their son, Dudley Russell Versaci, was born in 1986.

Ms. Dudley lived for more than 40 years in Waterford, VA, a town that is a National Historic Landmark. She was deeply involved in historic preservation efforts there, serving on the Historical Review Board for many years and with the Waterford Foundation. She also became a skilled gardener and garden designer, and her garden designs still enrich Waterford today.

Her survivors include her son Dudley, his wife, Carly, and their son Armand Valentino Versaci; her sister Jane Dudley McCaffrey and her husband Tim and their children; her sister Lou (Louise) Dudley Taft and her children and grandchildren; her brother Fred and his wife Beth, and her brother James and his wife Candy.

Celebrations of her life will be held in Waterford and in Swarthmore in October.

Ms. Dudley lived with her sister Lou for the past three years in Chestnut Hill, where she made many friends and loved walking in the Morris Arboretum. Donations in her memory may be made to the Morris Arboretum and Gardens of the University of Pennsylvania (morrisarboretum.org)

Arrangements by Joseph Levine & Sons - www.levinefuneral.com