Mary S. “Mary Lu” McNeal, a former professor of history at Notre Dame of Maryland University and founder and first director of the Renaissance Institute, died Sunday of undetermined causes at St. Stephen’s Green at Mercy Ridge, a retirement community in Timonium. The former longtime resident of The Orchards in North Baltimore was 95.
“She was a wonderful, wonderful, fabulous woman,” said Mary Ellen Gunther, a longtime friend. “She was smart, witty and such a good friend who’d do anything for you.”
Mary Lucrece Schroeder — who was known as Mary Lu — was the daughter of Dr. William Schroeder and Helen Wilkerson Schroeder. Born in Syracuse, New York, she was raised in Baltimore.
A 1946 graduate of the Institute of Notre Dame high school, she earned a bachelor’s degree in 1950 from what was then known as the College of Notre Dame.
In 1955, she married Edward J. “Ned” McNeal, and while raising her three children, worked as a social worker in foster child care for Catholic Charities.
She obtained a master’s degree in American history from Catholic University of America, and then in 1971, returned to Notre Dame, where she taught political science.
A year later, she established the college’s continuing education program, which at the time was all women.
In 1989, Mrs. McNeal founded the Renaissance Institute on Notre Dame’s Homeland campus — the brainchild of then-college president Sister Kathleen Feeley — and was the institute’s first director.
Open to women and men 50 and older, the classes are grounded in the liberal arts.
In a 2000 article, The Sun described it as “college for seniors” where the “students never graduate and never receive diplomas or degrees.”
“With the increase in the population of seniors, Sister Kathleen saw the need for a different kind of program for older people,” Mrs. McNeal told The Sun. “So many are still active, interested, looking for challenges. A program should be intellectually stimulating and not just entertainment,” she said.
Mrs. McNeal continued as director until retiring in 1994.
“Bringing her drive and grace, she embraced opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others in the Baltimore community,” according to a family-submitted biography. “She was a generously loving person with a never ending intellectual curiosity.”
In 1964, Lawrence Cardinal Shehan, a pioneer in social justice, appointed Mrs. McNeal as the first woman to sit on the Archdiocesan School Board.
Mrs. McNeal also became the first woman to serve on the board of St. Mary’s Seminary, the oldest Catholic seminary in America.
“She was an original member of our book club that is now in its 53rd year,” Mrs. Gunther said.
A resident of Mercy Ridge, she enjoyed attending the Baltimore Symphony, ocean swimming, and playing the piano well into her 90s.
“Her biggest legacy will be Notre Dame,” family members said.
She was a communicant for more than 40 years of the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Mary Our Queen.
Her husband of 58 years, who had served in the General Assembly, died in 2013.
A memorial Mass was held at Stella Maris in Timonium.
She is survived by her son, Edward J. McNeal Jr., of New York City; two daughters, Mary Helen McNeal and Julia McNeil Smith, both of North Roland Park; a granddaughter; and her companion, John Holland, of Mercy Ridge.