Mary Schenk started life in a rural part of Missouri but ended up traveling the world, promoting connections between people living very different lives and sharing warmth and friendship regardless of people’s differences.

Mary grew up on a farm in north-east Missouri very near the border with Iowa.  She and her family lived adjacent to her paternal grandparents. Mary, an older sister and younger sister and brother walked to school (which had an outhouse) down dirt roads regardless if it was muddy, dusty or snowy. They helped gather eggs, gardened, helped can extra produce and took care of the livestock. She remembers riding bikes on the dirt roads, going to Saturday movie matinees for 10 cents and as a special treat, roller skating at the rink 50 miles away! Mary participated in 4-H: cooking, sewing skirts out of feed sacks on a treadle sewing machine and even raising a lamb.

The local Presbyterian Church was a big influence in the Schenk home. Their church was the most northerly of the Southern Presbyterian churches which had a legacy of supporting slavery and the Confederate cause. As Mary’s experiences broadened, she was able to see how she did not agree with that practice.

When Mary was a junior in high school, her family home burned down. Her Dad immediately began to rebuilding the home, in addition to planting spring crops.  Her mom worked as a Special Education Teacher. Her parents decided that Mary could go to Ontario, California to live with a paternal aunt who was a teacher in order for Mary to have some better opportunities. Mary graduated from high school in California in 1954. As a result of being in California, she began to explore the direction she wanted to go in life, her identity and her values.

Mary attended a junior college in California before transferring to Montreat College in North Carolina, near Ashville; then transferred to Park College near Kansas City. In college, she was introduced to a wide range of diverse and international students. A roommate who was attending college on a full scholarship invited Mary home for a holiday. The girl’s large family lived in a backwoods house with only two bedrooms, but the experience was warm and welcoming. Mary is still in contact with that roommate. Another close friend dated and later married a Black student from Alabama. Mary attended their 40^th wedding anniversary and stays in touch with their daughter.

After college, she taught for a while at a training center for developmentally disabled children in Poplar Bluff, southeast Missouri. She wanted to go into the Peace Corp, but she had an opportunity to move to Baltimore to work with preschool developmentally disabled children; then went on to work in a housing project before moving on to the Department of Social Services working with mothers and children. When an opportunity came up to work in San Franscisco, Mary moved to the west coast and worked for another 25 years with in-home-services for seniors. She took early retirement to help care for her parents in the family home in Missouri then moved to Denver about 10 years ago to be near her niece.

Over the years, Mary had become involved in the World Affairs Council, which is made up of organizations working to deepen their communities’ global perspective through speaker programs, discussion groups, and educational experiences. These organizations provide platforms for members to foster a deeper understanding of the world and promote informed civic engagement.  With them, Mary has traveled to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, the Soviet Union, Germany, Austria and Australia. She had been involved in the International Hospitality Center hosting and accompanying visitors in California.

One thing not too many people may know about Mary is that she learned to fly a plane in a small plane when she was in her early 20s! Her Dad was a life-long learner, loved to travel and loved flying. He learned to fly in about 1949 and encouraged Mary to learn as well. Mary only flew solo one time but did not continue the interest, since she got air sick!  She still doesn’t feel so great in the back seat of a car.

Mary enjoys attending plays, reading, walking and being an art and history museum member. She participated in the Montview Women’s Book Group and helped regularly at the Women’s Homelessness Initiative when the women stayed overnight at Montview.

Mary credits her longevity to good genetics. Her Schenk grandfather lived to be 101 and her parents into their 90s. She loves to help people, is always curious to learn new things and enjoys weighing the pros and cons of situations to make an informed decision. A friend in San Francisco recommended that she contact Central Presbyterian as well as Montview, and she found her church home in both congregations. 

– Submitted by Brooke Durland and Mary Schenk