Lillie Mae Kearns

Beloved Mother, Wife, Aunt, and cherished friend went home to the Lord on February 15, 2023 at 7:20 pm in the loving arms of her daughter in the ICU at Memorial Herman Greater Heights Hospital in Houston, TX. Lillie Mae was born in Pittsburgh, PA to Thomas Joseph (TJ) and Lillie Mae Scully on October 18, 1929. She was a premature baby, and her mother was not expected to survive. Her father named her Lillie Mae after her mother. Thanks be to God, both mother and child survived! She was an only child. Lillie Mae grew up in Scott Township, a suburb of Pittsburgh, in a very close-knit community with many lifelong friends who were like family. She graduated from Scott Township High School in 1947. Graduated from Robert Morris Business School in 1949 as a medical secretary. However, she wanted to do more. She attended West Penn Hospital's School of Nursing, working as a student nurse. She received her RN and began to work in the operating room (OR) as a surgical nurse. Taking evening classes, she received her Bachelors of Science degree. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1962. Teaching nursing at West Penn School of Nursing was very rewarding, but her passion was calling her to the operating room. She loved being a surgical nurse, and working in surgery became her career.

After 10 years of dating, she married her soul mate Walter J. Kearns on August 2, 1958. Walter was a U.S. Marine serving in WWII and Korea. Lillie Mae had known Walter since childhood, growing up on the same street in Scott Township. They had strong family ties and many close friends who were considered family. Every summer they returned home to Pittsburgh to see everyone. These friendships lasted their entire lives. Walter's job took them to St. Louis, MO in 1963 and to Philadelphia, PA in 1964, where their only child, a daughter, was born. In 1969, they were transferred to South Florida where they lived seven miles from the beach and enjoyed every minute of it! In 1972, they were transferred to Houston, TX where they remained. Lillie Mae volunteered as the school nurse at St. Ambrose Parish where her daughter attended school from 1973 to 1979. She was also a Girl Scout leader at St. Ambrose and enjoyed all their scouting adventures! She was a dance mom, a cheer mom, and a nurse to all God's creatures, any who were in need. In 1979, she was thrilled to return to the operating room. Working in surgery at Spring Branch Memorial Hospital (SBMH), she made life-long friends, whom she loved dearly. They became family. Working well together in the OR, they all enjoyed spending time together outside of work. Along with their spouses, they got together for lots of dinners, dancing, parties, picnics, festivals, road trips, and holiday weekends at the lake. Over 40 years of friendships, through good times and bad, they stuck together. She was truly blessed with wonderful friends!

Lillie Mae had many great adventures as a surgical nurse. In the 1980s, she volunteered, traveling to Afghanistan twice during an active war. Her surgical team traveled under the Red Cross with no U.S. military protection or guarantees. They were involved in bringing medical supplies to the Afghan people; teaching and assisting in reconstructive orthopedic surgeries; and saving the lives of many men, women, and children who were severely injured in the Afghan war. She also traveled to Nicaragua with a surgical team to teach and provide free surgeries there. She was a very hard worker and devoted to the OR at SBMH. She was honored, being promoted to the Director of Surgery at Spring Branch, but she only took that position to try and save her team. After the great exodus from Spring Branch, she worked at Memorial Hermann Greater Heights Hospital as a surgical nurse until she retired.

She loved being an OR nurse! Working in the operating room was her passion and working with the team at SBMH was her honor. It enriched her life, blessing her with amazing friends! Lillie Mae had a brilliant mind, she was highly intelligent, and medicine was her calling, which made her an excellent OR nurse. She was also a great teacher but was extremely humble.

She always encouraged others and championed their success. Her kindness, caring, and compassion for others were real. She helped anyone and anything that needed her help! She took care of all God's creatures, two-footed, four-footed, those that were lost or strays, including wildlife. She took them all in, nursing them back to health as best she could. She had an amazing gift of compassion for all. She loved people and she loved all animals, especially her beloved cats and dogs, giving them long, wonderful lives. Her four-footed children brought her much joy and happiness her entire life. She really enjoyed watching birds in the wild, taking birding trips or just observing them in her backyard. Lillie Mae loved to travel, she was very fortunate being able to travel and explore so many amazing places around the world. With her adventurous spirt and a mind for learning, she embraced other cultures, learning interacting experiencing other people’s traditions and ways of life. Learning all she could and sharing her experiences with others. She had some great adventures! She was an amazing mother to her daughter and all her daughter's friends. She was the best mother anyone could ask for. We were truly blessed by her presence in our lives and her unconditional love! She will be missed, but her love will live on in our hearts and precious memories.

Lillie Mae is survived by her only child, daughter Mary Ann Kearns, her godson David Blankowski and (wife) Janan, brothers-in-law Milton Kearns and Donald Kearns and (wife) Esther, nephew and godson Gregory Kearns, the Kearns nieces Joanie, Donna, Kathy, and Krissi. The Reder nieces Effie Marie and Theresa.

Lillie Mae is preceded in death by her beloved parents Thomas (TJ) and Lillie Mae Scully, her beloved husband Walter J. Kearns and his parents Walter V. and Margaret Kearns, sister-in-law (Miltons beloved wife) Barbara Kearns and her dearest friends Loretta and Richard Blankowski, and Catherine (Cassie) Peacock

A visitation for Lillie Mae will be held Wednesday, March 8, 2023, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Pat H. Foley & Company, 1200 West 34th Street, Houston, Texas 77018. A rosary service will occur Wednesday, March 8, 2023, from 6:00 PM to 6:30 PM, 1200 West 34th Street, Houston, Texas 77018. A funeral mass will occur Thursday, March 9, 2023, at 11:00 AM at St Ambrose Catholic Church, 4213 Mangum Rd, Houston, Texas 77092. A committal service will occur Thursday, March 9, 2023, at 2:00 PM at Houston National Cemetery, 10410 Veterans Memorial Dr, Houston, Texas 77305.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.pathfoleyfuneraldirectors.com for the Kearns family.