Mary Stephanie Kendrick (wife of John Francis McDermott III) was born in St. Louis on Feb. 24, 1902 and died in a nursing home in Oakmont, PA on October 9, 1994. Except for a period during her infancy, her childhood and young adulthood were in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb north of St. Louis. Having skipped a grade, she graduated from Ferguson High School in 1919. Like her future husband, she attended Washington University in St. Louis, majored in English and English Literature, receiving degrees A. B. in 1923 and A. M. in 1924. It was there that they met, and both were contributors (Mary Stephanie quite frequently) of poetry and prose published in The Eliot Literary Magazine of Washington University. During the latter part of her college years, she did practice teaching in the Wellston neighborhood of St. Louis County. The experience cured her of any desire to be a teacher.
On Saturday December 20, 1924 Mary Stephanie and John Francis were married during the evening of one of the coldest nights on record in the St.. Louis area, with candle light only because the electricity went off. Following a honeymoon, they settled down with her parents at the house in Ferguson, because there was plenty of room but mainly because her mother, Alice, needed help due to Alice's supposedly delicate health. It all seemed to work out, as John III had a quiet space to do his at-home scholarly work, Mary Stephanie cooked the meals, and son John IV had an acre of land to command in romantic play and later help his grandfather, R. M. Kendrick, somewhat with upkeep of the grounds (spraying the orchard, digging post holes for the grape vines, some hoeing, etc.). John and Mary Stefanie's only child, John Francis McDermott IV, was born in St. Louis on March 10, 1926.
Throughout their life together, Mary Stephanie was of great professional help to John III, doing most of the typing (it was before the invention of word processors), considerable language translating and deciphering of original-diary script, and frequently editing. She was of further help to him in many ways on his working trips.
Mary Stephanie was a prolific reader. In particular, she became extremely knowledgeable in the field of mythology and folklore. It always seemed a pity that she did not have the occasion to put that knowledge to professional use. She did have a very long career of writing book reviews (paid commissions) for newspapers and periodicals.
Mary Stephanie had very strong opinions on politics, religion, philosophy, and social issues, and she expressed them elegantly in very frequent letters-to-the-editor, mainly published in the local St. Louis daily newspapers. She earned quite a reputation with regard to that, and was often encouraged by newspaper staff.
When her husband was in service during World War II, Mary Stephanie had different office jobs, including secretarial work for the Red Cross and running the office of an electrical (or plumbing) contractor.
Mary Stephanie was a member of the Alliance Française in St. Louis, and attended Alliance Française classes at the University of Paris when trips with her husband took her there. As a result, she became quite fluent in French.
In April 1982, one year after her husband's death, Mary Stephanie moved to St. Barnabas Retirement Village in Gibsonia, PA, not far from her son's home in Monroeville, PA. There she made a new circle of friends and edited and contributed to the village newspaper.
Mary Stephanie Kendrick McDermott is remembered as a very sprightly intelligent cultured lady with a keen wit, who was a very devoted helpmate to her husband and a very generous and interested mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Her strong feeling of the continuity of life in general and of family generations in particular was intertwined with her expansive knowledge of mythology, folklore, and family history.
On Saturday December 20, 1924 Mary Stephanie and John Francis were married during the evening of one of the coldest nights on record in the St.. Louis area, with candle light only because the electricity went off. Following a honeymoon, they settled down with her parents at the house in Ferguson, because there was plenty of room but mainly because her mother, Alice, needed help due to Alice's supposedly delicate health. It all seemed to work out, as John III had a quiet space to do his at-home scholarly work, Mary Stephanie cooked the meals, and son John IV had an acre of land to command in romantic play and later help his grandfather, R. M. Kendrick, somewhat with upkeep of the grounds (spraying the orchard, digging post holes for the grape vines, some hoeing, etc.). John and Mary Stefanie's only child, John Francis McDermott IV, was born in St. Louis on March 10, 1926.
Throughout their life together, Mary Stephanie was of great professional help to John III, doing most of the typing (it was before the invention of word processors), considerable language translating and deciphering of original-diary script, and frequently editing. She was of further help to him in many ways on his working trips.
Mary Stephanie was a prolific reader. In particular, she became extremely knowledgeable in the field of mythology and folklore. It always seemed a pity that she did not have the occasion to put that knowledge to professional use. She did have a very long career of writing book reviews (paid commissions) for newspapers and periodicals.
Mary Stephanie had very strong opinions on politics, religion, philosophy, and social issues, and she expressed them elegantly in very frequent letters-to-the-editor, mainly published in the local St. Louis daily newspapers. She earned quite a reputation with regard to that, and was often encouraged by newspaper staff.
When her husband was in service during World War II, Mary Stephanie had different office jobs, including secretarial work for the Red Cross and running the office of an electrical (or plumbing) contractor.
Mary Stephanie was a member of the Alliance Française in St. Louis, and attended Alliance Française classes at the University of Paris when trips with her husband took her there. As a result, she became quite fluent in French.
In April 1982, one year after her husband's death, Mary Stephanie moved to St. Barnabas Retirement Village in Gibsonia, PA, not far from her son's home in Monroeville, PA. There she made a new circle of friends and edited and contributed to the village newspaper.
Mary Stephanie Kendrick McDermott is remembered as a very sprightly intelligent cultured lady with a keen wit, who was a very devoted helpmate to her husband and a very generous and interested mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Her strong feeling of the continuity of life in general and of family generations in particular was intertwined with her expansive knowledge of mythology, folklore, and family history.
Mary Stephanie Kendrick (wife of John Francis McDermott III) was born in St. Louis on Feb. 24, 1902 and died in a nursing home in Oakmont, PA on October 9, 1994. Except for a period during her infancy, her childhood and young adulthood were in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb north of St. Louis. Having skipped a grade, she graduated from Ferguson High School in 1919. Like her future husband, she attended Washington University in St. Louis, majored in English and English Literature, receiving degrees A. B. in 1923 and A. M. in 1924. It was there that they met, and both were contributors (Mary Stephanie quite frequently) of poetry and prose published in The Eliot Literary Magazine of Washington University. During the latter part of her college years, she did practice teaching in the Wellston neighborhood of St. Louis County. The experience cured her of any desire to be a teacher.
On Saturday December 20, 1924 Mary Stephanie and John Francis were married during the evening of one of the coldest nights on record in the St.. Louis area, with candle light only because the electricity went off. Following a honeymoon, they settled down with her parents at the house in Ferguson, because there was plenty of room but mainly because her mother, Alice, needed help due to Alice's supposedly delicate health. It all seemed to work out, as John III had a quiet space to do his at-home scholarly work, Mary Stephanie cooked the meals, and son John IV had an acre of land to command in romantic play and later help his grandfather, R. M. Kendrick, somewhat with upkeep of the grounds (spraying the orchard, digging post holes for the grape vines, some hoeing, etc.). John and Mary Stefanie's only child, John Francis McDermott IV, was born in St. Louis on March 10, 1926.
Throughout their life together, Mary Stephanie was of great professional help to John III, doing most of the typing (it was before the invention of word processors), considerable language translating and deciphering of original-diary script, and frequently editing. She was of further help to him in many ways on his working trips.
Mary Stephanie was a prolific reader. In particular, she became extremely knowledgeable in the field of mythology and folklore. It always seemed a pity that she did not have the occasion to put that knowledge to professional use. She did have a very long career of writing book reviews (paid commissions) for newspapers and periodicals.
Mary Stephanie had very strong opinions on politics, religion, philosophy, and social issues, and she expressed them elegantly in very frequent letters-to-the-editor, mainly published in the local St. Louis daily newspapers. She earned quite a reputation with regard to that, and was often encouraged by newspaper staff.
When her husband was in service during World War II, Mary Stephanie had different office jobs, including secretarial work for the Red Cross and running the office of an electrical (or plumbing) contractor.
Mary Stephanie was a member of the Alliance Française in St. Louis, and attended Alliance Française classes at the University of Paris when trips with her husband took her there. As a result, she became quite fluent in French.
In April 1982, one year after her husband's death, Mary Stephanie moved to St. Barnabas Retirement Village in Gibsonia, PA, not far from her son's home in Monroeville, PA. There she made a new circle of friends and edited and contributed to the village newspaper.
Mary Stephanie Kendrick McDermott is remembered as a very sprightly intelligent cultured lady with a keen wit, who was a very devoted helpmate to her husband and a very generous and interested mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Her strong feeling of the continuity of life in general and of family generations in particular was intertwined with her expansive knowledge of mythology, folklore, and family history.
On Saturday December 20, 1924 Mary Stephanie and John Francis were married during the evening of one of the coldest nights on record in the St.. Louis area, with candle light only because the electricity went off. Following a honeymoon, they settled down with her parents at the house in Ferguson, because there was plenty of room but mainly because her mother, Alice, needed help due to Alice's supposedly delicate health. It all seemed to work out, as John III had a quiet space to do his at-home scholarly work, Mary Stephanie cooked the meals, and son John IV had an acre of land to command in romantic play and later help his grandfather, R. M. Kendrick, somewhat with upkeep of the grounds (spraying the orchard, digging post holes for the grape vines, some hoeing, etc.). John and Mary Stefanie's only child, John Francis McDermott IV, was born in St. Louis on March 10, 1926.
Throughout their life together, Mary Stephanie was of great professional help to John III, doing most of the typing (it was before the invention of word processors), considerable language translating and deciphering of original-diary script, and frequently editing. She was of further help to him in many ways on his working trips.
Mary Stephanie was a prolific reader. In particular, she became extremely knowledgeable in the field of mythology and folklore. It always seemed a pity that she did not have the occasion to put that knowledge to professional use. She did have a very long career of writing book reviews (paid commissions) for newspapers and periodicals.
Mary Stephanie had very strong opinions on politics, religion, philosophy, and social issues, and she expressed them elegantly in very frequent letters-to-the-editor, mainly published in the local St. Louis daily newspapers. She earned quite a reputation with regard to that, and was often encouraged by newspaper staff.
When her husband was in service during World War II, Mary Stephanie had different office jobs, including secretarial work for the Red Cross and running the office of an electrical (or plumbing) contractor.
Mary Stephanie was a member of the Alliance Française in St. Louis, and attended Alliance Française classes at the University of Paris when trips with her husband took her there. As a result, she became quite fluent in French.
In April 1982, one year after her husband's death, Mary Stephanie moved to St. Barnabas Retirement Village in Gibsonia, PA, not far from her son's home in Monroeville, PA. There she made a new circle of friends and edited and contributed to the village newspaper.
Mary Stephanie Kendrick McDermott is remembered as a very sprightly intelligent cultured lady with a keen wit, who was a very devoted helpmate to her husband and a very generous and interested mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Her strong feeling of the continuity of life in general and of family generations in particular was intertwined with her expansive knowledge of mythology, folklore, and family history.
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