The first female leader in Massachusetts’ university system and her husband, a retired MIT professor, were reportedly found dead in their Florida home on Friday after their house was overcome by carbon monoxide.
Sherry Penney, 81, and James Livingston, 88, were found dead in their Sarasota home, according to the Boston Globe. The couple’s car was reportedly left running in their garage.
The Globe reports that Penney’s son said the car, which has a keyless ignition, was out of gas and its battery dead upon the tragic discovery. A house cleaner reportedly found the couple unresponsive and called 911.
Penney served as the UMass Boston chancellor from 1988 to 2000 and was the interim president of the University of Massachusetts for about a year in 1995.
Livingston was a senior lecturer at MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering prior to his retirement.
