Mary Jo Scanlon Weisenfelder, 81, of Beaumont, passed away Monday, January 19, 2009. Mrs. Weisenfelder was born April 29, 1927, in Boston, Massachusetts. At six months of age, she moved with her parents, Harold and Mary Joseph Scanlon, to Beaumont. Mary Jo Lived in Beaumont for the remainder of her life. She graduated from St. Anthony’s High School (now Msgr. Kelly Catholic High School) in May, 1944. In 1947 she received a business degree in Chemistry from Southern Louisiana Institute in Lafayette, Louisiana which is now University of Louisiana – Lafayette. Upon graduation she worked as a chemist for DuPont Chemical in Orange, Texas. It was during this time on, July 22, 1950, that she married Carl H. Weisenfelder, of Beaumont. Mary Jo and Carl had known one another since their school days in Beaumont.
Mary Jo and Carl were blessed with five daughters, Amy, Jane, Peggy, Sally, and Sue, during the years 1953-1961. Mary Jo became a stay at home mother after the birth of her first daughter. She volunteered in many of the girl’s activities while they attended St. Anne Catholic School and Msgr. Kelly Catholic High School. She was also involved in Aggie Moms while each of her daughters attended Texas A&M University.
This close knit family has enjoyed many years of family vacations, even as the children married and had families of their own. Mary Jo and Carl have spent several vacations with various children, sons-in-law, and grandchildren skiing in Winter Park, swimming at Crystal Beach, and hiking in the Rocky Mountains National Park. Mary Jo and Carl, avid world travelers, have visited many foreign countries. Mary Jo was especially fond of her trips to Ireland, her ancestral home. Many of their trips were with the “Traveling Aggies,” as Carl is a Texas A&M graduate of the class of 1947.
Mary Jo left a lasting positive impact on everyone that she encountered. She served as a wonderful role model for her daughters and grandchildren. Her many life long friends and relatives will attest to her outgoing personality and love of life. She especially cherished the time spent with her grandchildren. Very interested in preserving her family history, she spent more than a decade in genealogy research and in preparing a history of her and Carl’s families as a gift to all her descendants. On July 22, 2000, she and Carl celebrated fifty years of a wonderful marriage. A devout Catholic, Mary Jo has been a member of St. Anne Catholic Church since its beginning in 1937. Her prayer for herself and her family has always been “for faith and contentment”.
Mary Jo is survived by her loving family, husband, Carl H. Weisenfelder; daughters, Amy Van Horn and her husband George of The Woodlands, Jane Brown and her husband Fred of Waco, Peggy Etheridge and her husband Greg of Richardson, Sally Bair and her husband Mark of Pryor, Oklahoma, Sue Middleton of Plano; sister, Betty Scanlon of Beaumont; and fourteen grandchildren.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 11:00 a.m. Saturday, January 24, 2009 at St. Anne Catholic Church, Beaumont with burial to follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, with Reverend William Manger officiating, under the direction of Broussard’s, 2000 McFaddin, Beaumont. A Christian Vigil will be held at 7:00 p.m. Friday, January 23, 2009 at the mortuary.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Anne Catholic Church Helping Hands and Hearts, 2715 Calder, Beaumont, Texas 77704; Alzheimer’s Association, 440 North 18th Street, Beaumont, Texas 77707.
