Marian Mapes-Bouck was born in Wisconsin on March 21, 1929. Census records show her family relocated frequently, with the 1930 Census placing them in Rochester, New York, and the 1940 Census in Renville, Minnesota. She attended what is now the University of North Texas beginning in 1948 and graduating in 1951, and the 1948 yearbook lists her as coming from Jacksonville. While at North Texas, she studied voice with Mary McCormic and was a member of the first Opera Workshop. In 1970, she earned a master's degree from California State University at Fullerton.

Mapes-Bouck worked at multiple radio stations, including as music director at WRR in Dallas and KFAC in Los Angeles, while remaining active as a singer and composer. Biographical materials indicate she initiated classical programming at WRR. She spent much of her life in California, wrote for the L.A. Opera Guide, and hosted classical music programs for station KMUD. Marian Mapes-Bouck died on November 17, 2009. Her papers reside at the University of North Texas Music Library, with two compositions in the Library of the Institute for the Study of Women in Music Collection of California State University, Northridge.

"Class Notes," The North Texan, Volume 56, Number 1, Spring 2006 Page: 27, viewed May 10, 2021. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc29763/m1/27/

Marian Mapes in the 1940 United States Federal Census, via Ancestry.com, viewed April 12, 2021.

The Yucca, Yearbook of North Texas State College, 1949 Page: 195, Portal To Texas History, viewed May 10, 2021. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth61018/m1/198/

Bouck Marian Mapes in the U.S., Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 1, via Ancestry.com, viewed April 12, 2021.

"Broadcast Update for the week of Dec. 6-12, 2020," International Alliance for Women in Music, viewed May 10, 2021 https://iawm.org/sites/default/files/BU%2012-05-20.pdf

Marian Mapes in the 1930 United States Federal Census, via Ancestry.com, viewed April 12, 2021.

Marian Estella Mapes, Baker & Ward family tree, via Ancestry.com, viewed April 12, 2021.

Marian E Mapes in the California, U.S., Marriage Index, 1960-1985, via Ancestry.com, viewed May 10, 2021.