Mary Clare (Brenny) Vaughn

 Mary Clare (Brenny) Vaughn, daughter of Clarence & Irene Brenny, passed away on Sunday, August 10, 2025, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, MO, from an apparent heart attack.

A funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 A.M. on Thursday, October 23, 2025 at Holy Spirit Catholic Church – St. John Paul II Parish in Carroll with Fr. Alan Reicks as the Celebrant. Music for the Mass will be by Kathy Halbur and Sherry Loughran. Lector for the Mass will be Michael Brenny. Gift bearers will be John Brenny and Anna Fitzpatrick. Burial will be in Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Carroll.

 Visitation will be held at Holy Spirit Church on Thursday, October 23, 2025 prior to the Mass from 9:00 – 10:15 A.M.

 In lieu of flowers, memorials may be left at church or with the funeral home for the Clarence “Chief” & Irene Brenny Memorial at Kuemper Catholic High School or the New Hope Client Special Needs fund in honor of Kelly Fitzpatrick. We also invite friends to pay it forward and buy someone a cup of coffee or a meal in Mary Clare’s memory.

 Funeral arrangements are entrusted to the Dahn and Woodhouse Funeral Home in Carroll and online condolences may be left for Mary Clare’s family at www.dahnandwoodhouse.com

 She graduated from Kuemper Catholic High School with the class of 1968 and pursued a higher education at Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, graduating with a BS degree in Medical Technology. She worked in several hospital laboratories from Bakersfield, California to Audubon, Iowa. Mary Clare loved everything about the laboratory and she soon became a Medical Sales representative for Dade Behring so she could supply laboratories with much needed laboratory equipment. She loved her customers and they loved her. She never wanted to see a hospital or clinic without a working piece of laboratory equipment.

 Upon her retirement, Mary Clare could be found volunteering at Kansas City’s Science City at Union Station, attending dinner theatres and Broadway shows. She fiercely supported her Kansas City Chiefs and predicted they would be Super Bowl Champions at the start of every season. She also loved her cats, reading, puzzling. She also enjoyed traveling to Mazatlán, Mexico, going to familiar locations and seeing the same friends every year.

 Mary Clare was truly the family member to keep family traditions alive. She loved to cook and loved to cook “the way Mom did”. She always wanted to make sure we had a traditional Thanksgiving “like we did when we were growing up”. Many cherished memories were shared over a very competitive family card game of May-I-Rummy.

 Mary Clare is survived by her brothers Mark Brenny from Bettendorf, Mike Brenny & special companion Rosemary Roman from Annapolis, MD, John Brenny & special companion Sharon Terrill from Bettendorf and sisters, Anna Marie (Brenny) Fitzpatrick (Tim) from Carroll and Jane (Brenny) Forbes from Johnston. As well as nieces & nephews, Katie & Kelly Fitzpatrick, Mark (Nicole) & Brad (KaSandra) Brenny, Addie (Brenny) Young (Nolan) & J.C. Brenny & 4 great nieces & 1 great nephew.

 She was preceded in death by her parents Clarence (Chief) & Irene Brenny, sister-in-law Gail Marie Brenny and brother-in-law, Scott Forbes.