Mary Martha Oberembt

Mary Martha Oberembt passed away on October 8, 2019 after a brief illness. Born in Milwaukee, WI Mary was a daughter of the late Bernard “Jerry” Oberembt and Martha Frint Oberembt. Mary attended St. James elementary school and Dominican High School and then went on to the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she majored in Psychology.

During her time at UW Madison, Mary was active in College Bowl, an academic competition associated with the Student Union. Her passion for the program resulted in her accepting a position with the company in New York City. Mary spent several years there and when the company relocated to Los Angeles, she was thrilled to go along and finally be in a warm climate year-round. Mary spent her entire career with College Bowl and was instrumental in the development and growth of the various programs that they produced. A highlight was when the company worked with Honda to develop Honda Campus All-Star Challenge. The program created an official academic competition between Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Providing a showcase for students to excel and earn institutional funding was a goal that touched Mary’s heart. Later, the company philosophy of promoting the aspiration for higher education spawned Africa Challenge. Mary embraced the project and moved to Nairobi, Kenya to coordinate the program which ran in eight African countries for four years. While there, she impacted the lives of so many people, and maintained relationships with them in the years following her return to the US.

Mary’s family, friends and colleagues will all be the first to share stories about her generosity in sharing her time, her talents and her treasure with others, and she always did it quietly and unassumingly. She was always there for anyone in need, to listen, advise and mentor. Mary was known for her devotion to mentoring others toward personal and professional betterment, and she impacted the lives of countless college students as a result.

In her personal life Mary was devoted to her dogs. Max, Maggie, Casey, Marley, and Ollie were her children and she showered them with love. She enjoyed her garden and growing a variety of vegetables to use in her other passion, cooking. She was an excellent cook and became a veritable professional with her Instant Pot. She loved sharing her latest creations and was very active on social media sites devoted to the “IP”.

Mary is survived by her sister Clare Barringer and nephew Ian Barringer of Carlsbad, CA, her step-mother Marilyn Oberembt of Pawleys Island, SC, her Aunt Patricia Cleary of Scottsdale, AZ and several cousins and second cousins. In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to either of Mary's favorite charities:

Kiva: You can help people (especially women) around the world create opportunity for themselves and their communities.

https://kiva.org

Warrior Canine Connection: Enlists recovering Warriors in a therapeutic mission of learning to train service dogs for their fellow Veterans.

https://warriorcanineconnection.org