Born the eldest of five sisters in Minneapolis, Mary Kerwin said that superficially hers was an insular upbringing. Her grandfather was an immigrant from Norway. Her father was a Lutheran pastor and her mother a schoolteacher. "But while I was still very young, the Viking ancestry won out," she said. "I studied French at school, and learned elementary Norwegian with my family before a trip to Norway. Later, I attended a Norwegian Lutheran college, from which I graduated in 1977 with a B.Sc. nursing degree. I was always interested in travel and foreign places."

She grew up in Sioux City, Iowa, where her family often hosted African and Asian postgraduate students of the region's agricultural economy. Each influence stimulated her curiosity. In her career, Mary of the tranquil manner focused chiefly on cardiology and oncology. She worked in Arizona, where she met her husband, whose wanderlust matched her own. Mary was still nursing at the Northwestern University Dental School's Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery when her husband's employment took them both to Chicago. "From Chicago to New York City, and then the 'Great Leap' overseas to Wellington, New Zealand," Mary said.

That was 22 years ago, during which time she has not lived again in the U.S. She had waited patiently for her chance to travel, and when it came she was not disappointed. She made the most of every opportunity. She said, "In Wellington I expanded my career into marketing and sales, first with a local import company and later with ICI Pharmaceuticals." Mary's daughter, who was born in New Zealand, is now a delighted university student in Australia. "She has New Zealand citizenship, and calls herself a Kiwi," Mary said.