BRADENTON, FLA. — Mary Frost, a beloved member of the antiques community and a cherished friend to many, passed away on March 4, 2025, after facing cancer with remarkable grace and courage.
Born and raised in Kansas City, Mary’s love for antiques was sparked early, tagging along on “junking trips” with her mother and grandmother — excursions filled with laughter, discovery, and the thrill of uncovering forgotten treasures. That early joy blossomed into a lifelong passion.
Over 50 years ago, Mary and her late husband Wayne made their home in Bradenton, Fla.— an unexpected setting for her deep devotion to New England antiquities. It wasn’t just a house but a living museum and a labor of love. She diligently constructed every nuance of a center entrance colonial home, authentically recreating a hearth, shutters, post and beam, flooring, doors and lighting, using authentic pieces whenever possible. Mary had a curatorial approach to her collecting. Although her focus was on all things loved in the passage of time, she had the keen and rare eye of a museum coordinator, carefully selecting how pieces interacted to tell a visual story. Her fascination was with New England, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina architecture and furnishings. Her social gatherings were presented as a Nineteenth Century woman would have hosted, from meals to place settings. She always loved the American ingenuity and integrity manifested in our country’s birth. The longer a piece remained and was used with appreciation, regardless of how worn it was, the more charm and value it held for her. Mary didn’t just collect antiques; she told stories with them. She had a curator’s eye and a historian’s heart.
She and her fellow antiquarians were well known at all the shows and shops east of the Mississippi. Mary became a mentor to many, a quiet scholar whose deep appreciation for early American craftsmanship inspired all who knew her. Her home was featured in Jill Peterson’s magazine, A Simple Life, in the summer of 2012, where she expressed what so many collectors feel but struggle to put into words: “I can’t put it into words. It’s just something I love. I know that it gives me joy and happiness and peace and tranquility— all of those things. But I just can’t explain it. If you love it, you just love it. And you just can’t see anything else.”
Mary’s greatest treasures were not the antiques she so carefully curated, but the people she loved: her son Jeff, her grandchildren Avery and Carson, and Amanda, whom she loved as a daughter.
Even in her final year — so difficult and full of heartache — Mary carried herself with remarkable dignity and quiet strength. Surrounded by the home she created and the meaningful objects she gathered over a lifetime, she found peace. Her absence will be felt deeply and she will be missed beyond measure.
