Maxine Marshall Keyes Bryant, 35, passed away on April 11th after a prolonged and brave struggle with breast cancer. She was an extraordinary wife, daughter, sister, and friend, brimming with love, humor, and determination.

Maxine was born July 8, 1988, in Sucre, Bolivia, where her father was researching and living with local Quechua peoples. She grew up in Acton, MA, and attended Concord Academy (class of 2006). She matriculated at Smith College for a year before transferring to Columbia College of Columbia University in Manhattan, where she studied studio art (class of 2010). She was graphics editor of and contributor to The Blue and White, the school's undergraduate literary magazine. As a student, Maxine worked with and won the praise of renowned artists including Kiki Smith and excelled in printmaking.

Upon graduating, she worked for the artist Lesley Dill before extending her visual acumen and creative drive into a new domain, as the owner and proprietress of Sunnyside Tattoo in Queens, New York. Customers and colleagues there knew her as Max. She nurtured young tattoo artists while cultivating a loyal clientele.

Maxine was ferociously intelligent: if you mentioned a small moment from the Iliad, she could tell you in which book of the poem it took place and, quite often, the line number. She loved to read William Faulkner ("Gentlemen, hush! Ain't we had a day" was a favorite quote) and Cormac McCarthy, but was no snob, delighting in The X-Files as much as literary fiction. Her writing was included in Red: Teenage Girls in America Write On What Fires Up Their Lives Today (Penguin, 2007) and in the Columbia Undergraduate Journal of History.

Maxine eventually sold Sunnyside Tattoo and moved to be closer to her parents-in-law and their extended family, first in Lakeland, FL, and then in Winter Haven, Fl. During her time in Florida, Maxine received certification to teach primary school. Always passionate in her connection with animals, Maxine began to volunteer at the Lakeland Animal Shelter and Polk County Bully Project. Maxine and Trent fostered numerous dogs. Maxine loved her pets, from Nakji Bokkeum to Jelly Roll, with a trueness that those of us who knew in turn felt for her.

In late summer 2024, Maxine and Trent had moved back to Acton, and were looking forward to resettling there. Maxine was predeceased by her beloved mother and father, Dr. Nanyee Lim Keyes and Philip Keyes. She is survived by her husband Trent, her brother Natan, her grandfather Jonathan Keyes, and a large extended family who will be with her today.

Arrangements are entrusted to Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Concord.