Mary McCleary Iacocca, Lee lacocca’s First Wife: 5 Fast Facts You Need To Know

Mary McCleary Iacocca was auto industry legend Lee Iacocca‘s first wife. She died at age 57 from complications of Type 1 diabetes, fueling her husband’s long-term commitment to funding research. He promised her he would find a cure.

Mary McCleary died May 15, 1983. Lee Iacocca, known as the driving force behind the Ford Mustang, the man who saved Chrysler, and the iconic face of Chryler’s advertising campaign in the 1980s, died July 2 at age 94.

After his wife’s death, he formed the Iacocca Family Foundation to fund research into a cure for Type 1 diabetes.

Mary Iacocca and Lee Iacocca had two daughters, Kathryn and Lia. Both women now serve on the foundation’s board.

Mary and Lee Iacocca were married in 1956. They met working together at Ford. They were married 27 years before her death, according to her obituary.

The family lived in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. They lived there for 20 years.

Quite unlike her husband, Mary Iacocca stayed out of the spotlight. Her poor health kept her from travels and events that often drew her husband. He would call her two or three times a day while he was travelling, and could tell if her sugar was low based on the sound of her voice. He would have someone stay with her while he was out of town in case she became ill.

At the time of her death, Kathryn Iacocca, now Kathryn Hentz, worked in public relations in Washington, DC. Lia Iacocca, now Lia Assad, was a student at Albion College in southwestern Michigan. Both women now have active roles with the foundation. Kathryn Hentz is the president, and Lia Assad is a board member. Lee Iacocca was CEO and President of Chrysler at the time of her death.

“Her tired heart just gave out,” Lee Iacocca said after his wife’s death, according to Chasing Destiny: Living With Diabetes. “She was still very beautiful.”

Here’s what you need to know:

1. Mary And Lee Iacocca Met Working At Ford

The courtship between Mary McCleary and Lee Iacocca began at Ford in 1948, according to Cheating Destiny: Living With Diabetes.
She was working as a receptionist at age 22. He had been hired two years earlier as an engineering trainee.

She was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes the year they met.

“From the day she had it, it was bad,” Lee Iacocca said, according to Cheating Destiny.

The couple was married in 1956, and Iacocca’s career accelerated.

Lee Iacocca stayed with the company until 1978. He introduced the Ford Mustang in 1964 and appeared on the cover of Time magazine. As the president of the company, Iacocca had a contentious relationship with Henry Ford II.

2. More Than $45 Million In Diabetes Research Was Funded In Her Honor

The Iacocca Family Foundation was founded in honor of Mary McCleary Iacocca and to fulfill Lee Iacocca’s promise to his wife – to find a cure for diabetes.

The organization has funded $45 million in research, according to its website.

The website said,

The Iacocca Family Foundation was created to fund innovative and promising diabetes research programs and projects that will lead to a cure for the disease and alleviate complications caused by it. To everyone living with type 1 diabetes, it has brought new hope and promise.

Lee Iacocca established the Foundation in 1984 in honor of his late wife, Mary K. Iacocca, who died from complications of type 1 diabetes. Since its inception, the Foundation has funded more than $45 million in promising research projects.

Although tremendous progress has been made through scientific advances, many questions still exist as to the cause of diabetes and its complications. The only way to solve the mystery is through quality medical research. The Iacocca Family Foundation has matured to become a leader in the world’s battle against diabetes. Only through the joint efforts of our government, medical science, business communities and private individuals, will we be able to increase awareness and continue to fund research to conquer diabetes once and for all.

Diabetes Mine wrote on Twitter, “NEWS: Auto industry legend Lee Iacocca has died. The Iacocca Family Foundation (started in honor of Lee’s wife Mary who died from #T1D complications) has given $40M+ to diabetes research since ’84, incld’ing @FaustmanLab work. #iacocca -MH”

3. She Had Two Daughters After Suffering Three Miscarriages

Facebook/Kathryn Iacocca HentzKathryn Iacocca Hentz

Mary McCleary Iacocca suffered three miscarriages before giving birth to her two daughters, Kathryn and Lia, by Cesarean section, according to Cheating Destiny: Living with Diabetes.

Facebook/Lia Iacocca AssadLia Iacocca Assad and her husband, Victor.

Mary Iacocca’s disease kept her away from his frequent functions and out of the spotlight. While her husband was away, he would call her two three times a day and have someone stay the night with her. Even on the phone, he could tell by the sound of her voice if her sugar was low.

Frequent hypoglycemic shock experiences in the middle of the night were common. Her body would become stiff and she would break out in cold sweats.

The couple tried many medical treatments in attempts to control her diabetes. She used an experimental insulin pump, which she stopped using because she was concerned it would malfunction in her sleep. She would often fly to the Joslin Clinic in Boston for treatments. She suffered her first heart attack in 1978, shortly after Lee Iacocca was forced to resign from Ford. Over the following four years, she would suffer another coronary or stroke four more times while her husband’s career was in tumultuous periods. Lee Iacocca felt partially responsible for her health deteriorating, according to Chasing Destiny.

Her obituary said she died “after a long series of illnesses.” She was hospitalized for two weeks at Beaumont Hospital before her death. She “suffered for decades from a combination of heart problems and diabetes and had had a stroke,” The Indianopolis Star wrote in 1983.

Lee Iacocca cancelled two speaking engagements to be close to his wife. The first was a commencement speech scheduled at Albion College, and the second was a speaking engagement in Montreal.

“For all his money, for all his power, Iacocca could do little more than watch his wife waste away,” James S. Hirsch wrote in Chasing Destiny.

When doctors suggested they amputate one of Mary’s feet, Lee said, “She can’t wake up without a foot,” the book said.

4. ‘You Think I Have It Bad?’ She Would Say

Mary McCleary remained positive despite her illness and deteriorating health, and rarely complained.

“You think I have it bad? You should have seen the people in the hospital with me,” she would say, according to James S. Hirsch, author of Chasing Destiny: Living with Diabetes.

“Mary was adamant about one thing: she wanted a cure,” Hirsch wrote. “Not for herself, of course; she knew it was too late for her. But when she went to Joslin, she saw the children sitting in the lobby and running down the halls; she wanted it for them. Her husband promised he would find the cure.”

5. Foundation Funding Led To Promising Research Results

Lee Iacocca made a $10 million contribution to Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) scientist Denise Faustman in the late 1990s, instructing her to use the money to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes. He suggested she use a tuberculosis vaccine and transform it into a cure for diabetes, according to Forbes.

The trial was announced at an American Diabetes Association Conference in 2015. The research was set to determine whether the vaccine would increase insulin production for adults who produce small amounts of insulin. If effective, the vaccine could reverse even long-term effects of diabetes, Forbes reported.

“We’re not only going for something cheap and safe, but also trying to figure out a good treatment that might reverse the most severe form of the disease in people who are 15 or 20 years out,” Faustman told Forbes.

Massachusetts General Hospital issued a press release in June, 2018 which said patients using the vaccine were showing long-term improvements in blood-sugar levels.

“This is clinical validation of the potential to stably lower blood sugars to near normal levels with a safe vaccine, even in patients with longstanding disease,” Faustman said, according to the release. “In addition to the clinical outcomes, we now have a clear understanding of the mechanisms through which limited BCG vaccine doses can make permanent, beneficial changes to the immune system and lower blood sugars in type 1 diabetes.”