Price was born as Mary Adelaide Prickett in Gas City, Indiana, USA, on 26 June 1912. Her parents were Lora Alden Prickett (1874–1965) and Anna Sheron (1877–1961). She had two older siblings, Martha Helen Johnson (1902–1957) and Richard Carleton (1908–1978). She earned degrees from DePauw University and New York University.

As a young woman, she met David Price. According to her, they had a ten-year romance before finally getting married in 1938. Her husband was going to a medical school at the time, and she was working as a teacher, and they couldn’t afford to get married at the time. The couple had four children. Price worked as a teacher in Indiana and Ohio public schools for 50 years, teaching English, Speech, Drama and Humanities. She also directed plays and musicals at high schools.

Mary Price passed away at her lake cottage in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA, on 29 August 2022, at the age of 110. She was survived by her four children, nine grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.