Margery Whiteman and her husband of 60 years, Michael, an Albany power couple. She died on May 28 at 84 after three bouts of lung cancer.

Margery Whiteman lazes on an inflatable swan with grandchildren and family members.

Margery Whiteman with her grandson, Jonathan, and friend Mary Maguire.

ALBANY — Margery Whiteman was a Renaissance woman.

She raised three kids. Taught high school French. Secured millions in donations for Emma Willard, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Riverside Church in Manhattan. Sang alto with Albany Pro Musica. Hosted elegant dinner parties and cooked beef bourguignon for guests. Tutored younger women in the art of not-for-profit board governance. Played tennis into her 70s and pickleball into her 80s. Read voraciously and battled cancer into remission twice.

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In today’s parlance, she would be called a badass woman.

When she died from complications of lung cancer on May 28 at 84 at home with family members by her bedside, Whiteman left a legacy of one-half century of professional accomplishment, civic engagement and activism on behalf of women’s reproductive rights, education, choral singing, classical music and more.

“She was one of those people who kept Albany spinning. Everywhere I went, there she was,” Marion Roach Smith said. Whiteman was a mentor who encouraged her work on multiple boards, including Capital Region Classical, where both served.

“She is part of a generation of people who formed and stood by institutions here. I put her in the category of Matthew Bender in terms of board service and responsible governance,” Smith said. “She was formidable in her accuracy and rigor.”

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