Mary Lamb McCubbin, 92, of State College, died peacefully Friday, July 7, 2017, at Foxdale Village in State College. Born Feb. 3, 1925, in Baltimore, she was the daughter of John Cotten Lamb and Francis Whetmore MacRae, the 11th of their 12 children. Mary is survived by Mary Louisa McCubbin (Rollin "Speedy" Zawistowski) of State College; Thomas King McCubbin, III, of New Cumberland; and Ruth Isabella Weber (Fredric) of Port Matilda; one sister, Fairinda Lamb Atkinson of Lansdale; three grandchildren, Chelsea Anne McCubbin of Chambersburg, Amberlee Lynn Weber of New York City, and Ariel Celeste Weber of Houston; and one great-grandson, Lynx Frederick Thomas McCubbin, also of Chambersburg.

On the first day of eighth grade, Mary returned from school to report there was a new boy in the class with "the weirdest name: King McCubbin." He had stiff corduroy pants that made a sound like "eernk, eernk, eernk" when he walked. After eighth grade, King went on to high school at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, and Mary to Eastern High School, from which she graduated in 1943. Mary's college career took her to University of North Carolina, Northwestern University, and Goucher College. She alternated studies with working a variety of jobs, and received her bachelor's degree in physics from Goucher College in Baltimore in 1948.

Her first job after graduating was with Frieze, the instrument division of Bendix, and she later worked for the National Bureau of Standards. It was during her tenure at the bureau when she presented a paper at the Optical Society of America meeting in New York that she reconnected with her childhood classmate, T. King McCubbin, Jr., whom she married Jan. 27, 1951, and who preceded her in death on Feb. 5, 2015.

Mary was a homemaker, member of the church choir and social services office at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, a longtime member of the State College Choral Society and Alliance Franaise, and volunteer at the Mount Nittany Medical Center. She also worked for many years with Volunteers in Tax Assistance, helping low income elderly and Penn State students from outside the United States prepare their tax returns. She was named volunteer of the year once during this time. She had many interests including music, in particular opera, musicals and classical vocal, and symphonic and chamber music. She studied voice for several years with Willa Taylor and other teachers. She also enjoyed art, travel, gardening, and sewing, and was an avid swimmer, going to the pool every day well into her 80s.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26 at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 208 Foster Ave., State College, PA 16801, with The Rev. Douglas Dailey officiating.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Mary's name can be made to a charity of your choosing, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, or the T. King McCubbin Memorial Scholarship in Physics in the Eberly College of Science at Penn State University.

A guest book may be signed or condolences sent to the family at www.heintzelmanfuneralhome.com.