Mary Frances Hamel, 89, of Annapolis, MD, passed away on June 11, 2026 at her home at the Annapolitan Assisted Living. There will not be a service but she will be buried in Massachusetts near her sister.

Mary was born on November 14, 1936 at the Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Her father, Lester Stanley Hamel, was a first lieutenant in the Marine Corps and her mother, Emily Florence Coe Hamel, was a homemaker. During her childhood, Mary and her family also lived in Arlington, VA; Oahu, Hawaii; Paris Island, SC; and Bremerton, WA.

Mary earned her B.A. in English from the University of Washington, and her Ph.D. in English from Pennsylvania State University. She was a professor of English at the University of Connecticut, Goucher College, and Western Maryland College before finishing her career (1978-2010) at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmetsburg, MD. Her passion was medieval literature, and she taught courses and published numerous scholarly papers on Chaucer, Shakespeare, Arthurian romance, and Western traditions in literature. She earned critical acclaim for her book Morte Arthure: A Critical Edition, published in 1984. After her retirement, Mary continued her love of reading and writing, and she especially enjoyed her time spent with her beloved cats. She enjoyed reading the newspaper every day with a cup of coffee right up until her death.

Mary was preceded in death by her sister, Patricia Hamel, and is survived by her sister, Diane Hoyt, and brother William Hamel, and her nieces and nephews, grand-nieces and nephews, and great-grand nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the SPCA of Anne Arundel County.