Mary Josephine Anne Teepen passed away peacefully in Salina, KS on November 1, 2024, at the age of 82.
Mary was born in Kansas City, Mo., October 2, 1942. She was preceded in death by her parents, Eugene and Eulalia (nee Sullivan) Teepen, brother, Albert P. Teepen, and many aunts and uncles. She is survived by her sister-in-law, Barbara Herron-Teepen, nephew, James Patrick Teepen, a great nephew, Alexander Teepen, several cousins, Charles Clavin, Mary Ann English, Susan Riley, Carol Beason, Sally Crane and many dear friends, especially Shelly and Brian Gaskill of Salina.
Ms. Teepen attended Holy Trinity Elementary school, East High School, Kansas City/ Penn Valley Community College, before graduating from the University of Kansas City / University of Missouri, in 1966 with a bachelor’s in business administration (Personnel and Accounting) degree.
After graduating from college, she moved to St. Louis to begin an Inventory Management Specialist career. She served several years as a union steward and recording secretary of the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), Local 405 in St. Louis, and worked part time as a Spiegel order- clerk / cashier and in the business office of a hospital as a cashier, insurance billing clerk, and performed other clerical and bookkeeping tasks. She was chosen to attend a yearlong Management Intern Training Program in Rock Island, IL, graduating second of twenty- four graduates. During her federal employment, Mary moved frequently for promotions and lived in Joliet, Il., Davenport / Bettendorf, IA., Warren, MI., and several times traveled for training to Petersburg, VA.
In 1974, Mary was selected as one of three people to assist the U.S Coast Guard (Department of Transportation) in establishing a Ships’ Inventory Control Point Center at Curtis Bat, MD., while living in Glen Burnie, MD. She retired after 12 ½ years and returned to Kansas City, Mo., to provide in home care to her parents and an aunt and uncle.
Following the deaths of her parents, she moved to Roeland Park, KS and became employed by the Community Service Center Inc., in Kansas City, Ks, under the Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City, KS. In this position Mary wore many hats: childcare food program coordinator for two large daycare centers, executive director’s administrative assistant and personnel and benefits coordinator, donations and Christmas gift coordinator, secretary for GED family counseling / teen parents and childcare programs and as a secretary for the special children’s center auxiliary program.
Mary then moved to Salina, KS in 1989 for a vocational education and attended Salina Vo-Tech, where she earned certificates in computer applications and programs. Mary then worked temporary jobs while attending Kansas Wesleyan University, where she studied to become a special education elementary teacher, but due to medical issues, did not graduate.
Her latest position was through the SER/ SCEP and Experience Works federal / state programs where she was employed part time by the Older Kansans Employment Program (OKEP) under the North Central Flint Hills Area Agency on Ageing as a Career development assistant and briefly for Experience Works, as a field operations assistant, both programs physically located at the Salina Senior Center. She once again retired in 1995 and devoted her time to pursuing other interests.
Mary volunteered for many years as a certified CCD teacher, 2nd grade to junior high students, through various Catholic parishes as she moved and served on the Parish council in Maryland. She was an active member of the Greater Kansas City’s Altrusa Club, performing many community related activities. She volunteered though Salina’s RSVP / Volunteer Connection /Foster Grandparent (one on one school-based reading program) and enjoyed reading to children at the Martin Luther King Jr Child development center. Other interests include genealogy, reading, solving puzzles of all varieties, attending the arts, theater, festivals, rodeos, volunteering, and teaching. Mary always strived to keep learning, to stay active, and be optimistic.
Funeral services for Mary will be held at 10 a.m., Friday November 15, at the Sacred Heart Cathedral, 118 N. Ninth St, Salina, KS., with a rosary taking place before the service.
Burial will be held at 11 a.m., at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, in Kansas City, Mo, 7601 Blue Ridge Blvd., on Saturday, November 16, 2024.
In lieu of flowers, donations will be welcomed to the Salina Senior Center’s Meal on Wheels program (2245 N 9th St, Salina, KS), Catholic Charities (425 W Iron. St, Salina, KS), Sacred Heart Cathedral (118 N 9th St, Salina, KS), or a charity of your choosing.