Mary Alice McKinney

July 6, 1932 – January 28, 2025

(AKA M.A., Mom, Mrs. Mack, Grandma, Pastor Mary Alice, Gogo Mary, GOGO)

Mary Alice McKinney (née Reeves) lived a life defined by faith, family, and fearless commitment to service. She was a mother, mentor, minister, and, in the end, “Gogo Mary” to a world that was larger and richer because she was in it.

Early Life & The Beginning of Mack & M.A.

Mary Alice was born in Boston to Chuck and Alice Reeves—a preacher and a teacher whose faith and wisdom shaped her lifelong path. She grew up in Montana, side by side with her younger sister Charlotte, until World War II sent her father to serve in the U.S. Navy. While Chaplain Reeves was in the South Pacific, Mary Alice, her mother, and sister waited in San Diego, holding down the home front with letters, prayers, and quiet strength. When his overseas tour ended, he was assigned as base chaplain at China Lake, where he ministered to sailors and Marines.

At Burroughs High School, Mary Alice became “M.A.”—a student leader, honor roll scholar, and cheerleader. At 15, she reluctantly attended a Christmas reception her father hosted for a few lonely young Marines. She spent most of the evening watching an electric train circle beneath the Christmas tree while swapping family stories with a quiet, kind-hearted corporal named Mack McKinney. When her mother teased her about a possible romance, she scoffed—“He’s way too old for me. But I know he’ll be a great husband and father someday.”

Four years later, she proved herself right, becoming the better half of Mack & M.A. McKinney—a strong, loving, and enduring partnership that lasted 74 years.

A Life of Motherhood, Mentorship & Ministry

Mary Alice was first and foremost a mother—not just to her own children but to countless others who were drawn to her wisdom, warmth, and unwavering moral compass. She was generous with love and approval, yet demanding of integrity and best efforts. She balanced protection with independence, acceptance with guidance, and critique with encouragement. She was, simply put, a great mom.

In her 20s and 30s, she poured herself into raising her family while serving as a leader in the PTA and her church. She and other churchwomen worked tirelessly for social and political change—fighting against racial discrimination in housing and advocating for nuclear disarmament.

As her children entered their teens, “Mr. & Mrs. Mack” became sought-after advisors for middle and high school youth groups, a role they embraced wholeheartedly.

Scholar, Counselor & Pastor

Approaching her 40s, Mary Alice began working in the admissions office at UC San Diego, where she eventually became an academic counselor, guiding young minds toward their futures. Meanwhile, she

and Mack expanded their faith journey—leading Walk to Emmaus retreats, Marriage Encounter weekends, and organizing study tours to the Holy Lands.

Never one to stop growing, Mary Alice returned to school in her 50s, earning both a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master of Divinity—simultaneously. She was ordained as a minister in the Methodist Church and pastored congregations throughout San Diego. Even after retiring from full-time ministry, she was repeatedly called back to serve, officiating at weddings and funerals, and serving as interim pastor to churches in Montana. She was especially proud to have pronounced every one of her married grandchildren husband or wife.

Gogo Mary: A Grandmother & Builder of Churches

In her 60s and 70s, Mary Alice and Mack led volunteer teams to South Africa, helping rural congregations build brick sanctuaries—literally laying foundations and raising walls with her own hands. It was in these communities that she became known as “Gogo Mary”—an honorary grandmother. She was invited to preach from the very pulpits of the churches she had helped build, a moment of full-circle grace that she deeply cherished.

A Legacy of Love

Mary Alice is loved and remembered by her devoted husband of 74 years, Mack McKinney; her sister, Charlotte Dunaway; and her children: Bill McKinney (Linnea Blair), Mike McKinney, and Laura Grant. In the McKinney family, love has always been bigger than blood, and she is also remembered by “exes-but-still-family”: Robin McKinney, Susan McKinney, John Duquette, Wesley Grant, Adam Gnade, and Thaddeus Christian.

She will be profoundly missed by her seven grandchildren: Mike McKinney (Adrienne), Amy Spenard (Jon), Adam McKinney (Addie Honeycutt), Will McKinney (Adrienne Hughes), Jessie Duquette Christian, Sarah Tabor (Dereck), and Rachel Duquette.

Her legacy continues through her “baker’s dozen” great-grandchildren: Kai, Noa, and Maile McKinney; Ellie and Charlotte Spenard; Charlie Honeycutt; Liam and Jack Christian; Marshall and Emmett Tabor; and Thorin, Carrick, and Breccan Sentman.

Mary Alice lived a life that mattered—not because she sought recognition, but because she answered every call to serve, to love, and to lift others up. Her legacy is not just in the churches she built, the students she counseled, or the congregations she pastored. It is in the kindness she modeled, the wisdom she shared, and the lives she touched.

She was, in every sense, a mother to many, a minister to all, and a woman of deep and abiding grace.

A service honoring Mary Alice’s life will be held at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church on Saturday, February 22, at 3:00 PM. Instead of flowers, donations may be made to United Women in Faith, continuing Mary Alice’s legacy of uplifting women called to ministry and service. https://uwfaith.org/give/.