Mary Augusta Coy Pritchard

Mary Augusta Coy Pritchard, 96, of Liberty, MO, died peacefully at her home on September 24. She was born in Duluth, MN, in 1916, to Katherine Rising and Sherman Lockwood Coy, and grew up in Cloquet, MN. The family later moved to Libertyville, IL. Mary finished her high school education at the Master's School in Dobbs Ferry, NY, in 1933, and went on to earn a degree in sociology from Smith College in 1937. Mary was married to John Franklin Pritchard Jr., of Kansas City, in 1942, a few months before he joined the Army Air Force, and shortly thereafter, moved to Texas to be near him as he trained to be a wartime pilot. After the war the couple moved to Liberty, raised a growing family of six children, and became active members of the community. Mary and John joined the First Presbyterian Church, where Mary was president of the Women of the Church, a member of the Women's Circle, and a ruling elder. Over the years Mary volunteered her time and energy in many other areas as well. She was a Head Start volunteer, a member of the board of the George H. Nettleton Home, and a longstanding member of P.E.O. She helped bring the American Field Service international exchange program to Liberty, serving on its board as chairperson both at the local and district level. Other organizations with which she was involved over the course of her life include the Cub Scouts and Bluebirds, 4-H, Hillcrest Ministries, and the Liberty Hospital. Alongside her husband she worked in numerous ways to advocate for the cause of peace and social justice. The couple were well known for their generosity to local arts, environmental, educational, and human service organizations. In 1979 Mary and John founded the Kansas City affiliate of Habitat For Humanity, the seventh such chapter to be opened in the United States. On their watch, Habitat Kansas City built more than 200 homes for low-income families in Kansas City's Linwood/Paseo neighborhood. Mary volunteered for years as a member of the Family Selection Committee, and helped set up additional supports for Habitat families including summer programs, tutoring for school-age children, and special outings to the zoo and Starlight Theater. In 1982 they joined Millard and Linda Fuller, the founders of Habitat International, on a trip around the world, visiting prospective Habitat sites in remote parts of Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, Uganda, and Zaire. Her family is especially grateful for the lively journal Mary kept on this trip. The couple took many other trips throughout the world, both for service and pleasure, and Mary continued traveling into her 96th year to visit her family. Mary is predeceased by her husband of 63 years and by her older sister Betty Walters, of Cloquet, MN, and her older brother Edward Coy, of Libertyville, IL. She is survived by her 6 children and their spouses and partners: John and Lee Pritchard (New York, NY), Tom Pritchard and Jody Rhone (Brooklyn, NY), David Pritchard and Ellen Wittlinger (Haydenville, MA), Anne Pritchard and Gary Wong (Brooklyn, NY), Sally Pritchard and Tom Tremaine (Spokane, WA), and Mary Pritchard and Matthew Dallett (Andover, MA); and by 12 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren, all of whom held a special place in her heart. The family is grateful to all the people who filled her later years with comfort and companionship, including her many dear friends, neighbors, and the dedicated caregivers at Home Instead. She loved watching the birds at her feeder, the deer in the pasture, and sharing a glass of wine with friends on her front porch. A memorial service celebrating Mary's life will be 4:00 p.m., Saturday, October 20, 2012 at First Presbyterian Church, 138 N. Main Street, Liberty, MO. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that gifts in Mary's honor be made to Habitat for Humanity/Kansas City, the Martha Lafite Thompson Nature Sanctuary, or a charity of the donor's choice.