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 causes, including equal rights, peace, the environment, gender equality, homelessness, hospice care, public broadcasting and education.
In 1970, he served three months in jail after pleading guilty to charges that he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl who had gone to his hotel room to seek an autograph. Yarrow received a presidential pardon from President Jimmy Carter in 1981.
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.
“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, Marybeth, son Christopher, daughter Bethany and granddaughter Valentina.
