Mary was born and raised in Wrexham in 1932. She was the youngest of 5 children to her beloved parents Alfred and Susan Baines.

She was born with gift, a beautiful Welsh singing voice.

Sadly her own mother died when Mary was only 13, so it fell to Mary to keep house for her father and brother, who worked in the coal mines.

After showing promise as a child, Mary began to take singing lessons at the age of sixteen.

Prizes she won at Welsh singing festivals helped to pay for lessons and music.

One of Mary's proudest moments of her singing career was winning the soprano contest at Rhyl National Eisteddfod in 1953.

College was the next step for Mary and her father and brother insisted that they could look after themselves.

Within 2 months Mary had auditioned and been accepted at the Royal Manchester College of Music.

She gained major awards in college, starred in many operas and was chosen to broadcast with the BBC Northern Orchestra. One of her proudest moments was
performing in the Royal Albert Hall with her father in the audience.
Her hard work paid off when she gained a singing diploma with
distinction in 1956.

During her time at college she met Robert Marsh, who was a piano student. They married in 1956 and they moved to Bolton to start a family.

Mary continued to perform in concerts and operas around the country, but eventually gave up singing to focus on raising her family.