Mary Pease Acquino of Rhode Island and Bridgehampton Dies June 29

Mary Pease Acquino died in her home in Rhode Island on June 29. She was 75.

Raised in New York by her parents Perry Rogers Pease and Mary Trimble Pease on the Upper East Side and on Ocean Road in Bridgehampton, she was introduced to the equestrian world, which she embraced wholeheartedly, becoming a talented hunter/jumper and event rider and gifted horse trainer.

Bridgehampton also gave her summers at the beach, spending days with her friends down at The Cut near the inlet at Meacox Bay. She often described her work with horses or being on the beach as her saving grace.

She led an incredible life. She was at the protests against the Vietnam War at Columbia University and snuck into The Factory with her mother’s goddaughter, Edie Sedqwick.

She traveled all over the world with her parents and her brother, Matthew Perry Pease, photographing every moment of it. Eventually, she enrolled at Brooks Institute of Photography and studied under Ansel Adams.

Her life was not without struggles. She faced complicated traumatic experiences, which she would later share to her AA community, and her sexual abuse survivor’s group. She was a fierce advocate and undeniably empathetic and compassionate. This would lead her to being called a second mom by her daughter, Lareun Wilde Acquino’s friends.

While living in Florida, she converted to Buddhism and practiced the Mahayana Path and was given the name of Thubten Pema. In the later years of her life, she moved in with Lauren in Ashaway, Rhode Island, where they “got to have a grand ‘ol time together.”

A celebration of life is being held at the Kadampa Meditation Center in Water Mill on September 28, 2025, at 12:30 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, one may consider donating to the Kadampa Meditation Center or a local animal shelter.