Mary Anderson Chapman-Mundt, 79, of St. Lucie County, died July 6, 2025.

She died unexpectedly of septic pneumonia after a decade-long battle with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer.

The Ocean Research & Conservation Association in Vero Beach (ORCA), where she was a board member, is planning a memorial service this fall.

She was an active member of the community and fierce advocate and accomplished lawyer for the environment.

The environment’s queen bee, Mary Anderson Chapman-Mundt, was driven to fight for Mother Nature so she could sail in cleaner waters and give animals the home they deserved, her husband and friends told TCPalm.

Chapman-Mundt, 79, of North Hutchinson Island in St. Lucie County, died unexpectedly of septic pneumonia on July 6, 2025, after a decade-long battle with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer. She is survived by Craig Mundt, her husband of 32 years.

The Ocean Research & Conservation Association in Vero Beach, where she was a board member, is planning a memorial service this fall.

“Some of us care desperately about preserving it, protecting it and restoring it,” longtime friend, neighbor and ORCA board Chair Wayne Mills said of the environment. “Mary was one of those people.”

St. Lucie County environmental advocate

Chapman-Mundt was an active member of the community and fierce advocate and accomplished lawyer for the environment who once argued a case before the Supreme Court in 1974, according to ORCA CEO Edith Widder.

She was on St. Lucie County’s Environmental Advisory Board and Harbor Advisory Council, and she was actively involved with the Humane Society of St. Lucie County, Conservation Alliance of St. Lucie County, Florida Scenic Highways Program-Treasure Coast, and the Marina Resources Council in Melbourne.

“Even though she was feeling very, very poorly, she would show up to the board meetings with ORCA,” Conservation Alliance President Shari Anker said. “Whatever it took.”

One of her most notable calls to action was an all-night protest against a coal plant proposed for Port St. Lucie, friends said. In 2005, opponents thwarted Florida Power & Light’s plan to build a coal-fired generator.

Mary Chapman-Mundt’s life and death

An avid learner, her education included double-majoring in political science and Russian at the University of Maryland, graduating in environmental law studies from Nova Southeastern University, and receiving her law degree from The George Washington University Law School.

She also went to culinary school and was a sailor with a merchant marine captain license that allowed her to command large vessels such as crew and cargo ships, according to Widder.

Friends remembered Chapman-Mundt as a bright and interesting person and loyal friend who made people smile, like when she dressed for events in animal costumes her husband made her, including a bumblebee and a jellyfish.

“She was such a remarkable person, I feel just a tremendous loss,” Widder said. “She was a truly unusual person that had a lot of impact on the people she met.”

She lived on a houseboat for nine years and spent years living in England, France, Georgia and Boston, Massachusetts, before settling in Florida with her husband, who also has been involved in civics and environmental advocacy.

Mundt was a North Palm Beach mayor and councilman. In St. Lucie County, he has been a County Commission candidate, a Planning & Zoning Commission vice chair, a Citizens Budget Review Committee chair, an Arts and Cultural Alliance board chair and a North Beach Association president.

His favorite memory of his wife was the night she said yes to marrying him.

“We had some of the world’s greatest experiences,” he said.

Chapman-Mundt’s life expectancy after diagnosis was between five months to five years, but she survived for 10 years.

“It was gut wrenching,” Mundt said of her death. “I was fortunate enough to be there, hold her hand and try to talk. I hope she heard me.”

Valeria Bartra is TCPalm’s summer intern. Contact her at valeria.bartra@tcpalm.com.