Mary Elizabeth Koether, a researcher, manager and graduate of Mount Holyoke College, was born on June 7, 1929 in East Orange, New Jersey. Her father, Rudolph Koether, was a salesman. She graduated from Clifford Scott High School in East Orange, New Jersey. She attended Mount Holyoke College from 1947-1951 and graduated with a bachelor's degree in international relations. She was a legal guardian to her niece and nephew from 1956-1969 Koether's career involved many different jobs such as being a researcher at Bell Telephone Laboratories, a researcher at the Center for International Studies at Princeton University, a manager and an Army historian. Koether received the Alumnae Medal of Honor from Mount Holyoke College in 1981.

The Mary E. Koether Papers, spanning the years of 1947-1983 (bulk 1947-1951), are comprised of scrapbooks, calendars, correspondence, writings, tuition bills, biographical information and a photograph. Most of the collection focuses on her years as a Mount Holyoke College student, 1947-1951. Two scrapbooks, dating from 1947-1951, detail her social life at Mount Holyoke College. They include programs and newspaper clippings about college events and traditions and pictures of Koether with friends. The second scrapbook includes the Junior Show script for the class of 1951 and two photos of dorm room interiors. The calendars are academic planners published by the Outing Club, 1948-1951 and include notes of her daily activities. Other material in the collection concerns her study and travel abroad with the International Relations Club Tour in 1950. A scrapbook contains information about the program she participated in as well as programs, ticket stubs, maps, photographs and information from events she attended at places she visited (including France, Switzerland, England, and Italy). Her correspondence dates from the fall of 1947 and June-August, 1950. The three letters from 1947 discuss her course work, teachers, finances, roommate, and room furnishings. The letters from 1950 concern her experiences as a prticipant in a European Study Tour sponsored by the Association of International Relations Clubs. She primarily mentions her impressions of the places she visited and people she met while traveling in England, France, Italy, and Switzerland. She also mentions her modes of transportation and the post-World War II damage she observed. A publication about this tour constitutes the biographical information series. The writings series consists of a publication from the Bell System Technical journal by Koether in 1983. The photograph is of Koether in 1948.

This collection is organized into seven series:

• Scrapbooks (1947-1950)
• Calendars (1947-1951)
• Correspondence (1947, 1950)
• Writings (1983)
• Tuition Bills (1947-1951)
• Biographical Information (1953)
• Photograph (1948)