American singer and songwriter Peter Yarrow, who found fame with the 1960s folk music trio Peter, Paul and Mary, died Tuesday, Jan. 7, at the age of 86, according to his publicist.
Yarrow died in the morning at his New York home surrounded by family following a four-year battle with bladder cancer, publicist Ken Sunshine said in a statement.
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“Our fearless dragon is tired and has entered the last chapter of his magnificent life," Yarrow's daughter Bethany said in a statement provided by Sunshine. "The world knows Peter Yarrow the iconic folk activist, but the human being behind the legend is every bit as generous, creative, passionate, playful and wise as his lyrics suggest."
Yarrow formed Peter, Paul and Mary with Noel Paul Stookey and Mary Travers. The group helped popularize the early work of Bob Dylan and sang hits such as "Puff, The Magic Dragon," which Yarrow co-wrote.
On Oct. 18, 1969, Yarrow married Mary Beth McCarthy, of Willmar, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Willmar. McCarthy was the 21-year-old daughter of Dr. A.M. and Muriel McCarthy. Yarrow was 31.
The wedding ceremony featured the first public performance of Stookey's "The Wedding Song (This is Love)."
Yarrow and McCarthy met while Mary Beth was campaigning in Wisconsin for the 1968 presidential bid of her uncle U.S. Sen. Gene McCarthy. Sen. McCarthy attended the wedding in Willmar.
McCarthy Yarrow talked in 2018 with former West Central Tribune reporter Rand Middleton about her 1969 wedding day, and said of "The Wedding Song" that Stookey "felt he was not the author but that it was only channeled through him and he felt it was sacred."
Stookey never put his name on the record or the sheet music, and the royalties go to a trust fund called Public Domain Foundation and are distributed to individuals and foundations worldwide.
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Yarrow and Mary Beth McCarthy Yarrow would later divorce in 1991, but reportedly remarried in 2022.
The Peter, Paul and Mary version of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" helped transform the song into a civil rights anthem and introduced his music to a wider audience. The group also scored big hits with "If I Had a Hammer" and "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" co-written by folk artist Pete Seeger.
The group's other hits included covers of Will Holt's "Lemon Tree" and John Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane."
The trio's members were noted for their political activism. They performed at the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington and at demonstrations protesting the Vietnam War.
Throughout his life, Yarrow campaigned for social change and various causes, including equal rights, peace, the environment, gender equality, homelessness, hospice care, public broadcasting and education.
Stookey, the only living member of the trio, praised Yarrow's creative influence and said he would deeply miss his former bandmate.
"Being an only child, growing up without siblings may have afforded me the full attention of my parents, but with the formation of Peter, Paul and Mary, I suddenly had a brother named Peter Yarrow," Stookey said.
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"And while his comfort in the city and my love of the country tended to keep us apart geographically, our different perspectives were celebrated often in our friendship and our music," he added.
Yarrow is survived by his wife, Mary Beth, son, Christopher, daughter, Bethany, and granddaughter, Valentina.
West Central Tribune editor Kelly Boldan contributed to this story.
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