Mary Ann was born on October 28, 1934 in Kansas City, Missouri to Anthony and Edith (Cleary) Scharnhorst. She attended Redemptorist High School and was a member of the drum and bugle corps and graduated from high school at the age of 16. She worked as a secretary for Trans World Airlines and was also a member of the USO where she was a disc jockey for their sponsored dances. She met her husband, Joseph (Joe) Bedord, at a dance after a basketball game and after their courtship, he eventually proposed to her under the Scout statue in Penn Valley Park. They were married on August 25, 1956, and enjoyed 60 years of marriage until Joe's death in 2017. During their years of marriage, Mary Ann accompanied Joe on a job assignment from 1976-1977 in Yesilkoy, Turkey and they traveled to Germany and Switzerland. Mary Ann was very proud of her Swiss heritage and proudly flew the Swiss flag in front of their home. She was a member of the Kansas City Swiss Society and loved to attend the annual Swiss picnic and the Christmas skating party with her children and grandchildren. In retirement, Mary Ann and Joe volunteered for many years at the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging, now known as Unbound. For many years, Mary Ann and Joe would host Christmas Eve dinner at their home with friends and family and they would also host the best 4th of July parties which brought together aunts, uncles, and cousins along with many, many good friends. In later years, she and Joe enjoyed sitting in their living room with their huskies, drinking wine or martinis and listening to Roger Whittaker. Mary Ann was an avid Chiefs and Royals fan. When our teams were not doing well, she would dutifully go sit in the bathroom to bring our teams' good luck. (It's only weird if it doesn't work!) Mary Ann found peace in spending time with her family, her many pets throughout the years, watching the animal channel, saying the rosary under her beautiful picture of Pope John Paul II and attending mass at her beloved Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Redemptorist) Church, her childhood parish.
Mary Ann was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Joe; parents; infant son, Stephen; brother, Robert (Bob); sisters, Julia and Jeanne Ellen. She is survived by her four children: daughter, Chris (Monte), sons, Jeff (Jan), Joe Jr. (Glendolyn), and John. Her four grandchildren, Shannon, Kelly, Joey and Jacey; along with eight great-grandchildren, Kaitlyn, Gabriella, AJ, Kendyl, Kason, Reese, Roman and Ellie; her brother, James (Susan), and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Mom, we love you very much and we will miss you dearly.
Visitation will be from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm on Monday, April 28, 2025 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Redemptorist) Church, 3333 Broadway Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64111, followed by Mass of Christian Burial at 1:00 pm. Committal service in Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery, Raytown, MO. Celebration of Life will be at 4:30 pm on Monday, April 28th at The Tuileries Clubhouse, 10801 Glenwood Street, Overland Park, KS 66211. Memorial contributions can be made to Cristo Rey Kansas City, Unbound, or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
The family would like to thank the staff of Delmar Gardens Lenexa for their compassionate care of our Mom during her time there.
