Mary Buch was born in Montreal, and after World War II lived for many years in that city's Lakeshore community. She served on the local school board and was also actively involved in education at the provincial level. After graduation from College Marie-Victorin she went on to work in Youth Protection in Montreal.

In 1983, following her retirement to Brockeville, she became immersed in genealogy and local history, and is a past-president of the Brockville and District Historical Society. Mary Buch has two sons and three grandchildren who live in the United States