Mary Florence Bennett, CPA, 64, of Lawrenceville, NJ, passed away on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2014.

She was born on Oct. 19, 1949, in Urbana, IL, the daughter of the late Lois and Edmond Bennett, and brother of the the late J. Paul Bennett.

Mary is survived by sons, Brian Sheppard of Chicago, IL, John Sheppard of Tucson, AZ; father, Dennis Sheppard of Lawrenceville, NJ; sister, Betty Bennett of East Dundee, IL; and brother, E. Shelford Bennett of Champaign, IL.

She graduated from Pine Crest School, Fort Lauderdale, FL, and the University of Michigan with a degree in zoology. She subsequently became a certified public accountant, and owned her own business with clients all over the USA.

A member of the USA Peace Corps, she taught science in Liberia, and was the National Women's Swim Coach in Nigeria. Mary also resided in Saudi Arabia and Iran. She lived in several states in the U.S., and moved to Lawrenceville in 1986, where she lived until her death.

A lifelong swimmer and diver, Mary competed in the 1968 Olympic trials in freestyle, just missing out on a place on the Olympic team. As a student at Michigan, Mary switched from swimming to diving, and formed a close bond with her coach and mentor, Dick Kimball. After a break, she returned to diving and competed at many masters diving events, both domestically and internationally. Mary holds 50 national and 25 world records in springboard and platform events. She will be posthumously nominated to be inducted into the International Masters Swimming and Diving Hall of Fame.

For those of you who knew and appreciated Mary's wonderful wit and sense of humor, and disdain for mediocrity, please join us to celebrate her life on Friday, Oct. 17, between 3 and 5 p.m. at the home of George and Karen McGann, 1039 Drew Dr., Yardley PA 19067.

Donations can be given to the The Nature Conservancy, www.nature.org, directly on the website in Mary Bennett's name, or by calling 800-628-6860. Her grandfather, Victor E. Shelford, helped form the predecessor to this organization.