My thoughts are with Mary on this the International Day of Mourning   to not only recognize those workers killed and injured on the job  but also to  focus on  the education of workers  regarding occupational health and safety. 
Mary loved  the educational aspect of the AUPE Occupational Health & Safety Courses. I had the privilege of co-facilitating many introductory & advanced health & safety courses.  The students loved her sense of humor and infectious smile. Mary would frequently  have to bring  me back to our course agenda as I tended to wander off course sharing my many experiences related to the topic at hand. She would give me hand  signals to stop  then ask me why I didn't stop, she always laughed when I told her that I thought you wanted me to continue cause the  story was so good. 
You are missed Mary  our thoughts are with you.

I miss you so much, Mommy. We all do. We are trying our very best to navigate this life without you, but man is it ever hard.
One year later, Mama, it hasn't gotten any easier. It's just become different. 
I still miss you every day. I mourn you every day. And every day, I wish with everything in me that I could have you back.
I know I'll never stop wishing. But I've also come to understand that the reason I hurt SO much now is because of how very much I loved you. I loved you more than even me, a words person, can possibly explain. 
And despite the hurt, I know the love is more important. And I now that, now matter how much I miss you, which is a lot by the way, I will ALWAYS love you more. 
I'd give anything for another one of your hugs.
Forever the cuter monkey and your girl child, 

Bug

Remembering my sweet caring little sister on this day, you will never know how much I miss you, time probably will never ease the pain. I loved our time together, our talks about growing up together ect. Our total sweet times with the littles was so awesome. Spending family get togethers was so great and camping too. 
Just so you Mare (Manny)  know we have been constantly working together to help Tom, Caitlin and Mike to navigate this difficult time, it has been heartbreaking but we made it through the holiday season .
I love and miss so incredible much
💔Me

So sorry for your loss, Mary was so loving and caring. I am sure everyone that knew Mary will cherish their Memories.

I will remember her kindness.

Cheryl and Jocelyn

There are no words to fully describe the profound impact Mary has had to both members and staff of AUPE. Those of us lucky enough to have been members of AUPE and now staff, have had the opportunity to see and learn from her vast knowledge. Her understanding of our membership and her tireless advocacy has influenced how we do our work. 
As my MSO, she encouraged me to fight the good fight on my worksite. When I became an MSO, she continued to challenge and encourage. We battled, we laughed, we rolled our eyes but always because of the passion for the membership. 
There will never be another Mary - that has been one of the hardest realizations. She is irreplaceable. But I'd like to think we all have little pieces of Mary to carry forward. That is how we honour her passion and dedication - even though we may feel lost. 
Knowing how deep this impact has been on Mary's work family, I send heartfelt condolences to Tom, Caitlin and Michael. She spoke of you all so very often, in her Mary way. 
We will continue to speak out and stand up - as she would expect nothing less. That is a part of Mary's legacy. 
Love to you all. 


I am deeply saddened by the loss of Mary and I would like to share some memories of a dear colleague and friend. My memory of Mary goes back to meeting her for the first time at one of the many Labour Schools and Conventions I attended as a member.  I found her to be kind, passionate, informative and funny.  I then got the pleasure of working with her, when I was hired in Labour Relations in March of 2016 as an Admin Support. Mary was a great mentor to me and I always relied on her for answers while in my positions as Admin Support and cover-off Membership Services Officer. One memory that pops into my head, about this support, was when I was in an Admin role and had to create a whole pile of grievances for this one site (over 100 I think) and she was so patient with helping me get through them, signing them off and helping to fax them to the Employer.  Even though it was a stressful "end of the day" on a Friday,  she always had a smile on and would joke around and be positive. I will always remember our conversations during our many coffee breaks or during one of the many lunches we would have in Labour Relations. We talked a lot about our children and she was always so proud of her boy child and girl child. In my now Acting role as Team Lead in the Resource Centre, Mary and I have had a lot of communication in getting issues resolved and figuring out work processes etc. over Teams. It has been a tough couple years not seeing our colleagues face to face, and I will truly miss Mary's wisdom, her kindness, her wit and her smile. I have attached the last picture, I had with Mary before the Pandemic hit, Halloween 2019 - always smiling Mary. RIP Mary, you will be greatly missed :-( 

I am so sorry for your loss of Mary.  
I worked with Mary Kehoe, many years ago at CapitalCare, and then with her in her role at AUPE.   
She was a huge advocate for the people she represented and will be greatly missed.



Everything I am is because of you. I will keep trying to make you proud, Mama.

As long as I'm living, your baby I'll be.

I met Mary through the union.  She was such a great mentor and friend. I will always remember the time I got to spend a week shadowing her as I was becoming a steward. I learned so much from Mary and I will be forever thankful for having her in my life. I will miss you dearly my friend. Rest in Peace.


Where does one begin when speaking of such an amazing human and how she impacted so many people. I was very fortunate to have Mary motivate and guide me as a union activist. She supported me when I needed to stand up for myself and checked in to see how things went. As one of my other incredible mentors put it, she was like a union godmother. 

She gave the best hugs and always made you feel welcomed and supported. She made a huge imprint in many hearts and she will be greatly missed. Sending my deepest sympathy and prayers to all of her family as you navigate through this sudden loss.  Also sending hugs to all of her AUPE family, friends and anyone who is feeling a heavy heart. 

Completely blessed to have had you in my life and just wished it was longer. 

This is truly devastating news. Mary and my wife Sherry worked together over 35 years ago in Sarnia when Mary and Tom were dating. They became fast friends, as did Tom and I when we were colleagues. It was Mary and Tom who introduced Sherry and me - and the rest is history. We were honoured to have Mary and Tom as our maid-of-honour and groom at our wedding in 1987 - and we were equally honoured to perform the same roles at their wedding later the same year. Although we were separated by thousands of miles and many decades, Mary still has a special place in our hearts. When Tom called us a few days ago to relay the news, we were both devastated, not just at the loss of a very special person far too soon, but also for Tom and their children whose lives have been torn apart by Mary's passing. Our warmest thoughts are with Tom and his extended family as they navigate an uncertain future after their shocking loss. Mary has left us, but her memory will remain forever in our hearts. Love, Eric & Sherry Nixon

Mary was a fellow worker, mentor and a leader. 

The first time I met Mary was in 2011, shortly after I began working at AUPE.  She was always kind and generous. Mary welcomed and united staff together at coffee time.

I remember sitting in on some of the courses AUPE offers its members, in which Mary was teaching workplace health and safety. So many people learned about unions and labour relations from her. She touched the lives of so many Alberta workers. And kids...

My fondest memory of Mary is working together at Camp AUPE in August 2017. The camp at Goldeye in Nordegg was the fruit of months of planning. Mary was the staff advisor to AUPE's Women's Committee, and was a tremendous support to staff and campers alike.

Mary attended Camp AUPE three summers in a row, from 2017 to 2019. She taught at least 200 campers about workplace health and safety. We know youth are much more likely to be injured on the job than other workers. Her role supporting youngsters helped make stronger kids and a stronger Alberta.

Photos of Mary at Camp AUPE in 2017 are here: 

https://bit.ly/3FhW9aN 

I miss her very much. Farewell, Mary. 

Warmest regards and condolences to your family and her friends. 

In solidarity,

Jordan Thompson

I met Mary as a Health & Safety Representative with the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) over 30 years ago. I can recall Mary raising an "imminent danger" issue on behalf of her co-workers in the 1980's. We arranged a meeting with the employer & it soon became evident that Mary had the respect of her co-workers and her employer when she not only clearly articulated the issue but also provided corrective measures that were implemented by the employer in a short period of time. The AUPE Health & Safety program became blessed when Mary joined AUPE staff  in 2008. I had the privilege of co-facilitating OHS courses with Mary as well she became one of my mentors  for OHS issues. Mary would often try and keep me on track of  time when we co-facilitated courses by waving her hand in the air, when my segment was done Mary would ask me if I saw her waving her hand, when I told her that I had and thought it was a signal to continue Mary just laughed and said I guess it was "value added". Mary was a strong supporter of the annual Day of Mourning ceremonies held April 28 of every year.  Mary had a great sense of humor, a winning smile and infectious laugh, she was very studied in OHS & the members loved her. Mary will be missed but her legacy will not be forgotten. Rest in Peace Mary. 

Where do I begin....Mary has been a union sister, fellow activist, incredible colleague, and most of all, a wonderful friend to me. She was fierce when advocating for the members, as well as the staff. She would give everything she had, to help anyone who needed support. For me, the challenge will be managing through, without her smile, her passion for her staff, her ridiculous sense of humour (I loved that about her) and her way of just knowing, when someone needed to talk. My text message exchanges, are what keep me going through these very sad times, as I can hear her end of each of them, and that brings a smile to me. Mary ALWAYS told us stories about Tom and the kids (her girl child and her boy child), as she was a proud wife and mother and wanted to make sure the world knew, what a wonderful family she was part of. I will never forget how 'Mare' called me after I lost my dad, and she spent over an hour on the phone with me, just listening and she always checked in, to see how I was. She also always told me 'stop second guessing yourself pal, you know what you are doing, and your instincts are right on the mark', and I hope she knows, how much I appreciated her. Mare, you will be so truly missed by me, and I hope I can continue on, with all the knowledge you shared with me (and the funny humour) and have you look down and think 'yep, CLR's gonna be ok',  Thanks for absolutely everything.....Rest in Paradise my friend...until we meet again sister!
CLR
xoxo

Lucy and I were deeply saddened to hear of Marys' sudden and unexpected passing.Mary and Tom have been good friends of ours for almost 30 years, We have partied, vacationed and visited over these 30 years. Even though we now live thousands of miles apart when we got together it was like  moments instead of years since out last visit. She was one of the most comfortable and easy going women we have ever known and we will miss her immensely. All our love to Tom, Caitie and Mike.You are constantly in our thoughts. Much love, Allan and Lucy

Miss Mary,
From that very first course you have been an inspiration to me.   I admired your passion, knowledge and out of the box thinking.   Your compassion and caring shone through at every encounter we had.  I will take the lessons that you imparted on me and spend the rest of my life living up to the faith and belief that you had in me.
You will be forever missed but always appreciated, loved and NEVER forgotten.
Deb N

Death has taken away a genuinely caring and brilliant individual, more importantly a loving wife, mother, union sister, colleague, and friend. While we mourn the loss of a colleague and friend, we pay tribute and celebrate a life that was well lived. Mary was a fierce advocate of workers rights ... a life committed to the cause. Life can be fleeting. But a life lived to the fullest stays in fond memories. 

Mike and I extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and wish them courage and strength to bear this irreparable loss. 
Mike and Karen Painchaud

OBITUARY

Maryellen Kehoe

8 February, 1964 – 28 April, 2022

Parkland Funeral Services

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