Mary J. Kakas, a feisty philanthropist and mentor to many whose endless energy powered her to status as a fixture in Boston’s social scene, died Thursday at 78, her family said.
Kakas, the first female chief executive of the family fur company Edward F. Kakas & Sons, sat on dozens of boards of charities and raised millions of dollars for organizations.
One of her two sons, Joe Berkeley, said his mother’s presence would often strike fear in auto magnate Herb Chambers.
“When Herb Chambers heard she was coming by to visit his dealership yet again, he often attempted to hide in another office,” Berkeley said. “Before Mary reached him, he knew he was going to be donating a red Vespa, a car, or on one occasion, a brand-new ambulance to a charitable cause whether he wanted to or not.”
Event planner A.J. Williams said Kakas took her under her wing and became a close friend.
“She was my second mom for sure,” Williams told the Herald.
“She had the best stories — the kind of stories that would make your jaw drop and make you laugh hysterically and make you say ‘Mary, did that really happen?’?” Williams said. “She had this awesome gift of gab, was so effervescent. She gave people life.”
Berkeley said his mother’s style could lead others to mistake her as lacking substance. Her reply: “I have blonde hair, not a blonde brain.” She read five newspapers a day and was a fan of politics.
Kakas spent many of her final months at Massachusetts General Hospital. One day without explanation she asked for a shorter pediatric IV pole. Kakas stuffed the pole through the sunroof of a friend’s car as a thoroughly planned escape from the hospital.
“I’m just going to get my nails done,” she said, according to Berkeley. Hospital staff had her promise she’d not try to escape again. But she did, on Christmas, to have a meal at the Liberty Hotel.
Kakas is survived by her sons Joe and Will Berkeley, her daughters-in-law Lisa Borden and Kelly Gleason, and her two brothers, Tom and Burt Walsh. She had one grandson and numerous nieces and nephews. She was married twice and divorced twice, her family says, before “retiring from the institution.”
A reception celebrating her life is scheduled for June 23 at the Glastonbury Abbey in Hingham.