Mary Ann Walsh, age 75, of Claycomo, Missouri passed away with her family by her side on Sunday, February 21, 2021. She will be laid to rest in her family plot in Brookfield, Missouri. A celebration of life will be held in her honor at a later date.
Mary Ann was born on August 25, 1945 in Marceline, Missouri to John E. Collins and Esther M. Stark Collins. She graduated from Brookfield High School and attended college at Kirksville State Teachers College (now Truman State University).
She married Ronald Walsh on October 16, 1971 in Brookfield, Missouri and they spent forty-nine happy years together in Kansas City until her passing.
After college, Mary Ann worked as a tape librarian for Bell Telephone for ten years. She then took time to raise her two children, and returned to work at H&R Block, where she began as a tax preparer in a local office. After several years, she took a position at H&R Block’s corporate headquarters testing, developing and certifying H&R Block’s tax programs. She held a number of certifications in software quality assurance and quality analysis. She was involved in the Claycomo Parks Board. An avid reader and lifelong learner, she took pride in her work and the opportunity to learn new technology.
Mary Ann is preceded in death by her parents, John and Esther Collins; her sisters Nancy Collins, Connie Collins, Betty Jane Collins Buswell, and Beverly Collins. She is survived by her husband, Ronald Walsh; her children Dr. Rhonda Walsh and Michael Oldham, and Rachel Walsh and Micah Osgood; her sisters and brothers Kathy McNally, Debbie and Keven Niemeier, Patty and Mark Daniels, Nina Hodges, John and Angie Collins, Pam Wattenbarger, and James Collins; and her grandchildren William and Elliot Oldham.
Memorial donations may be given to the Scleroderma Foundation (scleroderma.org) and St. Jude’s Childrens’ Research Hospital.
Mary Ann’s family wishes to extend our sincere thanks to the nurses and staff at the Wound Care Center and the intensive care unit at North Kansas City Hospital, and home health care specialist Denise Sharp.
