Mary Mckee

Mary Cary McKee, age 87 years, wife, mother and grandmother died peacefully at 8:35 a.m. on Monday, February 10, 2020 with her daughters at her side at Emmet County Medical Care Facility in Harbor Shores, Michigan following an extended illness.

She was born on August 16, 1932 in Niles, Michigan to Jack F. and Carribel (Schmidt) Young.  She was graduated from Niles High School and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Education from Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo).  She was employed as a teacher in the Niles Community Schools for a few years before moving with her family to Flint, Michigan.  Following the retirement of her husband, they moved to Harbor Springs, Michigan where he built a new house and lived the rest of their lives.

Mary had been raised in the Episcopal Church, had been active in the Episcopal Church Women (ECW), and continued in that faith throughout her life.  When her children were in school, she continued her interest in education by participating the the local Parent Teacher Association (PTA).  She also enjoyed reading and loved flowers.  She suffered a medical crisis that created challenges in her daily routine, but she persevered to provide a home for her family.

On January 21, 1956 she married Claire McKee, Jr. who died – sadly – on January 21, 2015, the remarkable fifty-ninth anniversary of their wedding.  She was also preceded in death by her parents and by her brothers, John F. “Jack”Young on February 27, 2018 and Frederick G. Young on September 13, 2017.

Surviving family includes her children, Cary Graham and Mary Conley, both of Franklin, Tennessee and Heath (& Diane) McKee of Annandale, Virginia; grandchildren Claire Conley, Matthew (& Ashley) Graham, Ashlie (& Matthew) West, Lydia McKee, and Daniel McKee; great-grandchildren Malory West, Elliott West, and Rylie Graham; Mary’s sisters-in-law Judy (Mrs. Jack Young) and Suzanne McKee; and several nieces and nephews.

The funeral service for Mary McKee will be at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, February 13, 2020 at the Halbritter-Wickens Funeral Home, 615 East Main Street in Niles with The Reverend James Slack, retired officiating.  Committal will follow at the Silverbrook Cemetery in Niles.  Online condolences may be left at:

www.halbritterwickens.com

Mary was a woman of faith and family who nurtured those blessings in a manner that will now continue as a testimony to a life well-lived.