Mary Ann Kailing

1955 - 2021

Mary Ann Kailing passed from this life on May 13, 2021, in Moultrie, Georgia, after having surgery a few days earlier.

Mary Ann was born in Reed City, Michigan, to Francis and Ann (Leroux) Kailing on April 7, 1955. She is survived by her brother Gene Kailing (Susan) and a sister Norma Merrill, all living in Michigan; another sister, Janette Sanginiti (Tony) in New Jersey; by two sons, Austin Luminais, who lives in Texas, and Jordan Luminais (Misty) in Ohio; by several beloved nieces and nephews; and by Gerry Gee, her loving life-partner, helpmate and devoted caregiver in Tallahassee, Florida. Mary Ann's extended family included Bill and Gretchen Leone of Rockport, Maine, and many dear friends from Louisiana and Michigan.

The poet Longfellow once described a character as having "a tender heart, a will inflexible" and those qualities aptly applied to Mary Ann as she finely blended an abiding concern for the welfare of others and a firm Teutonic resolve. She was a truly beautiful person who had a Cajun affinity for capricious adventure. Mary Ann was curious about many things, so she read widely, traveled internationally, attended several schools and colleges and loved learning in both formal and informal settings. She was inducted into Alpha Sigma Nu, the national Jesuit Honor Society, at Loyola University (New Orleans) in 1990 and graduated from Florida State University with a degree in anthropology in 1995. She worked as a reporter for a community newspaper in New Orleans and helped CNN cover the Republican National Convention there in 1988. She was a writer, as much as her infirmities would allow; she courageously spent years suffering chronic pain from multiple physical maladies.

A Mass for Her Soul's Intention will be held at St. Philip Neri Catholic Church in Reed City, MI, at 9AM on Tues., May 25, and a celebration of Mary Ann's life will occur at a later date.

The family express deep gratitude to the ER/ICU doctors and nurses at Colquitt (GA) and Capital (FL) Regional Medical Centers and to her personal physicians for their skilled and compassionate care for Mary Ann, and to Kelly Coughlin of Culley's MeadowWood Funeral Home, Tallahassee, for handling final arrangements. Two of Mary Ann's favorite charities, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105) and the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews would welcome contributions made in her memory.