Mary L. Kearney

Mary was born on October 19, 1938 in Detroit, Michigan, to Marian and Mark Vehill. As a child she twice won the Metropolitan Spelling Bee sponsored by the Detroit News. Mary attended Cooley High School in Detroit and Wayne State University where she earned a B.S. in psychology while also studying art and dance.

After college, she met Thomas Kearney; they were married on January 26, 1963. Together, they started a family in Detroit, first welcoming Sean and later Kevin, then Anne. In 1975, the family relocated to Lathrup Village. Mary worked for various insurance companies before becoming a technical writer at EDS. After retiring from EDS, she started her own technical writing business, Précis Ltd. She served on the city council for the City of Lathrup Village from 1988 -1994 and served as the mayor Pro-Tem in 1993. She was active with the Lathrup Village Historical Society and the Gardeneers. In 2014, Mary and Tom relocated to East Lansing. Mary quickly became a Friends of the Haslett Library board member and also did volunteer work for her neighborhood association. Over the past few years researching family history also kept her busy as did her life-long love of reading.

Mary lived a full life using her many talents; creativity was her strong suit. She was fearless and jumped in with both feet to all sorts of new activities, be it cooking, volunteering, career endeavors and politics. She made spectacular Halloween costumes for her children and she made all the draperies for her various homes. As a young mother, Mary sewed many of her own clothes as well as fun outfits for Anne and her dolls. Mary guided her children in making numerous Christmas ornaments and various homemade Christmas gifts for family members. All of her children won prizes in their elementary school’s art fairs with her guidance. She was a den-mother for Sean’s cub scout troop. She sewed costumes for Kevin’s and Anne’s various roles in the Lathrup Youth Theater where she also helped with the make-up and posters. Mary enjoyed gardening and her spectacular garden in Lathrup Village was featured in garden tours. She became passionate about gardening as a means to improve the environment, installing a rain garden and utilizing mostly native plants. Mary was always willing to help with writing projects. She was an expert at creating newsletters, directories and handbooks and enjoyed the challenge of making such projects.

Mary was a loving and supportive mother. She offered enthusiasm when her children showed interest in activities, and later careers. She offered compassion and wisdom when life presented challenges. All of this was extended as the family grew, to the granddaughters and to her son-in law and daughter-in-law. Mary’s granddaughters are grateful for her colorful stories as well as her encouragement and inspiration to read, write, learn, be curious and look out for others.

Mary is survived by her husband, Thomas Kearney of East Lansing; her children, Sean Kearney and wife Theresa of North Carolina, Kevin Kearney of Royal Oak and daughter Anne Kearney-Looman and husband Sean Looman of Okemos; her granddaughters, Ashley Hendryx, Tessa Kearney and Angela Kearney; two great-grandsons, Finley and Sawyer; and two cousins who were like sisters – Sharon and Peggy. Mary was preceded in death by her parents as well as two additional sister-like cousins, Anne and Sue. Many cats have been part of the family, most recently Murphy who has dutifully been keeping Mary’s favorite chair warm for her.

A memorial visitation & remembrance for Mary will be held on Tuesday, November 12, 2024 from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes East Chapel, 1730 E Grand River Ave., East Lansing, MI 48823.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Mary's memory may be made to Ferndale Cat Shelter, 686 Livernois St., Ferndale, MI 48220 or Friends of the Haslett Library, 1590 Franklin St., Haslett, MI 48840.