Hotel and tourism veteran Mary Gleason left warm memories among her friends and associates when she passed away in late December. The Chicago native came to the Virgin Islands in 1969 and spent decades extending hospitality to visitors at some of St. Thomas’ leading hotels and resorts.
By the time she was honored by the St. Thomas-St. John Hotel and Tourism Association in 2008, Gleason had retired after serving 30 years with the Marriott Frenchman’s Reef Resort. Along the way, she became the first woman to lead the St. Thomas Rotary Club as president, persuaded teenage girls to “think it over” before getting pregnant, supported the Family Resource Center, and led an effort to make a home for those recovering from substance abuse called Shaky Acres.
The St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce, United Way, and the Humane Society were among the causes Gleason lent a hand to.
Friend and travel business owner Marilyn Mackay recalled Mary Gleason as a thoughtful person who presented her with a gift when her son Eric was born. “And that was 60 years ago,” Mackay said. But up until the time that her longtime friend left St. Thomas “two or three years ago,” Gleason would join gatherings with friends who had spent decades of good times together in the Virgin Islands, Mackay said.
At the time she accepted the association’s Tommy Star Award in 2008, Gleason said she could not have imagined the life she led after arriving on St. Thomas 40 years earlier would lead to such distinction. “I thought I’d be here for a month or two,” she said.
