OBITUARY: Mary Jane Kamm

FORT WORTH, Texas—Mary Jane Kamm passed away on July 29, 2021, at her home in Ft. Worth, Texas.

A graveside service for the family will be on Friday, Aug. 6, in Halstead.

Mary Jane was born on Sept. 5, 1925, to Edwin and Lucy Chapple Kamm and grew up on a farm east of Halstead with her parents and two sisters, Maxine and Edna. Her parents preceded her in death. Mary loved playing with Kitten Kat’s kittens but did not like herding the cows. Her job was seeing that the chickens were fed and had water. She did help with the dishes after Dad’s insistence. After work was done, Mary and Edna cut out and played with their paper dolls.

After graduating from grade school, Halstead High School and Wichita Business College, Mary Jane started working for Employer Mutual in Wichita. After six years in the Wichita office, she worked in the offices of Kansas City, Chicago, Dallas and Des Moines before deciding to transfer to the Dallas office. Her career with the insurance industry lasted 43 years.

Mary liked gardening, and her backyards were usually full of flowers. Her love of animals was Jolie Blon, a pekingese she had in the ’70s, a poodle/terrier named Cricket in the ’80s and Candy, a shih tzu in the 2000s.

After moving to Dallas, Mary enjoyed visiting with Maxine and her family on the weekends. And after Dana, Karen and Ed started growing, they often spent a weekend with Mary in Dallas.

After Mary’s father passed away in 1981, her mother moved to Dallas to live with Mary. After Mary’s retirement, they moved to Fort Worth to be closer to Maxine. Mary had many friends in Dallas. She joined Epsilon Sigma Alpha, a business women’s sorority and also the Insurance Women’s Organization, where she received the award of Claims Women of the Year. Mary enjoyed bowling and bridge. Her friends, Margaret, Betty and Evelyn, joined her in the card games often.

After moving to Fort Worth, a neighbor invited Mary to join her at Bible Study Fellowship. They met once a week from September to May. She enjoyed it so much she kept going for several years.

After Maxine’s husband passed away in 1988 and when her mother died in 1996, Maxine and Mary spent a lot of time together. It was especially fun when Edna visited from Kansas. Maxine, unfortunately, passed in January 2021.

Survivors include her sister, Edna Nispel; nephews, Edwin Roberts of Benbrook, Texas, and Bryan Nispel of Caldwell; nieces, Dana Ramsey of Grand Junction, Colo., Karen Murray of Morgan Mill, Texas, Julie Stuck of Junction City and Mary Lynn Perkins of Kansas City, Mo.; 11 great-nieces and nephews; and a great-great-niece and nephew.

Funeral arrangements are by Broadway Colonial Funeral Home, Newton.

 

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