Mary Kay Meeker of East Troy passed away Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012 at Waukesha Memorial Hospital.
Mary Kay Hammer was born on Sept. 23, 1947 to Arnold and Ruth Hammer of Des Moines, Iowa. She grew up there and attended grade school and high school. As a young child, Mary Kay contracted polio, which affected her left arm and hand. She had a very dedicated piano teacher who taught her to play the piano, which she did beautifully throughout her life.
Mary Kay attended Trinity College in Deerfield, Ill., and was also a resident adviser for a dorm of college women. During her college years, she was actively involved in music and traveled, as an accompanist, with the choirs throughout the United States.
In 1969, she served on summer staff at Camp Willabay in Williams Bay, and it was there that she began her lifelong ministry to youth and adults through Christian Camping.
Mary Kay met and fell in love with Greg Meeker and they were married on June 5,1972 at Camp Willabay.
Her ministry at Camp Willabay, and then Timber-lee Christian Center in East Troy, extended over four decades.
She took leadership roles in running the Urban Camp ministry for more than 25 years, conducting staff training, coordinating volunteers, planning and running summer and winter youth camp programs, coordinating adult ministry programs, and helped design displays and graphics to introduce people to the camping ministry.
In addition, Mary Kay used her creativity to write several children’s musicals, write and perform puppet shows, and produce, direct and star in a children’s television show called “The Green Bean Bus,” which helped children learn about God and how to be a Christian in their community.
Mary Kay was a prolific writer and enjoyed challenging herself to write fiction and non-fiction stories, plays, poetry, and to keep in touch with hundreds of family and friends through emails and on Facebook.
Mary Kay often spent time, via Skype on the Internet, with her brother, Mark, sister-in-law, Jenny, niece, Nina (Ting-Ting) and her mother, Ruth who live in Nebraska.
Mary Kay was proud of her Swedish heritage. She used her ethnic humor to bring laughter to thousands of people over the years.
Mary Kay was American by birth, Swedish by heritage, and Christian by rebirth in Jesus Christ and she had a life of service and dedication to her Lord and Savior.
There will be a funeral service at East Troy Bible Church on Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012 at 10 a.m. A private burial will follow.
In lieu of flowers, memorials in honor of Mary Kay can be made to the Mary Kay Meeker Urban Camp Scholarship Fund, Timber-lee Christian Center, N8705 Scout Rd., East Troy, WI 53120.
On Saturday, Oct. 27, beginning at 9:30 a.m. there will be a special service held at Calvary Community Church, Harris Road and Highway 50 in Williams Bay.
Family and friends are invited to attend this Celebration of the Life of Mary Kay Meeker and have a time of joyful remembrances of a wonderful friend. A luncheon will be served after the service.
Schmidt & Bartelt Funeral and Cremation Services, Mukwonago assisted the family.
For online guest registry, visit www.schmidtandbartelt.com.
I met Mary Kay in the summer of 1972 as a camper at Timber-lee. That was the first of 8 summers as a camper and 2 1/2 on summer staff- and Mary Kay was the constant and consistent person I remember. She showed people God’s love- not just talked about it. She encouraged people to reach past what they thought they could do. She will be deeply missed. Many prayers to Greg, and the rest of Mary Kay’s family during this time of earthly loss.