George Leonard and Mary Daly

Two remarkable people passed away recently. George Leonard at 86, Mary Daly at 81. Both were cultural provocateurs and social change artists. Both could qualify for The Elder Hall of Fame.

Mary Daly, widely known as a radical feminist theologian or philosopher, wrote books heralded as groundbreaking in feminist and spiritual thought. One work, Webster's First New Intergalactic Wickedary of the English Language, presented a lexicon of non-sexist language and reclaimed scorned words like crone and hag as emblems of pride.

George Leonard was one of the pioneers of the human potential moment at Esalen Institute in California. His book Education and Ecstasy was considered one of the first manifestos of that movement.

Here is what the New York Times said about the lives of each of these elders.

George Leonard

Mary Daly