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Mary Jo Vogt McCoy © Enid News and Eagle 04-30-2015 Submitted by: Glenn
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Mass of Christian burial for Mary Jo McCoy will be 1 p.m. Friday, May 1, 2015, at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church. The Rev. Carson Krittenbrink will officiate. Burial will be at Memorial Park Cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction of Ladusau-Evans Funeral Home.
Mary Jo Vogt McCoy was born Sept. 18, 1925, to Hilda Went Vogt and Frank Vogt in Fort Pierce, Fla. She passed away Tuesday, April 28, 2015, in Enid, Okla.
Mary Jo and her family moved to Enid when she was 2 years old, where her father served as Enid’s chief of police from 1935-1937.
While a senior at Enid High School, Mary Jo joined the USO to support the World War II troops in training at Enid Army Air Field, now Vance Air Force Base. There, she met the love of her life, Eugene Joseph McCoy of Derby, Conn. Joe was stationed there while training as an aerial gunner.
One serendipitous Saturday evening Mary Jo selected Joe from the crowd of a USO gathering to draw the winning ticket for a free long-distance phone call home.
Soon after, Joe nominated her to represent the base’s reproduction department in the Miss Enid Army Air Field pageant; she won, Joe was captivated, and they were married at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church on Sept. 15, 1946.
Mary Jo had a lengthy and joyful career in the grain business, beginning at the age of 10, when she got her first job riding in the wheat trucks that followed the harvesters and making sure the wheat didn’t spill over the sides. She was paid 10 cents a day and given all the lemonade she could drink.
After graduating from high school, she joined Continental Grain Company as a secretary and eventually earned her place as manager of the Enid office for the New York City-based corporation. She was the first female terminal elevator manager in the country. She became the first woman in Continental’s history to earn her commodities broker license.
Mary Jo was honored with the Agri-Business Achievement Award by the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame in 1985, for her contributions to the state’s grain industry. She was a competitive force in the business and earned the respect of her customers and fellow grain dealers.
While her work was fulfilling, Mary Jo loved most her husband and their two daughters, Kathleen Mavourneen McCoy and Erin Mavourneen McCoy.
She tirelessly and compassionately cared for Kathleen’s special needs throughout Kathleen’s life. She deeply loved both of her daughters and was equally proud of them. When her grandson Phillip Windom Offill III was born, her heart opened even wider, and she was justly proud of him as well.
Mary Jo was a fabulous entertainer and cook. No family gathering was complete without her mile-high angel food cake. She and Joe were famous for their 1960s Saturday night bridge parties.
Despite her demanding work schedule, she always made time to help with her daughters’ Taft grade school events and dance and piano recitals. The annual Halloween party she gave for her grandson was legendary.
Mary Jo loved to travel, and she did so quite often for her work, always taking her family with her. Her favorite trips though were family visits to New England, especially Joe’s beloved Connecticut and the beaches of Ogunquit, Maine.
Her cherished daughter, Kathleen and husband Joe preceded her in death, as did three brothers and two sisters. Surviving her are her daughter, Erin; grandson, Win; her treasured niece, Marilyn Rook and husband Tom Potter; and many other nieces and nephews. She loved her family deeply and they loved her.
Memorials can be made to Our Daily Bread, with Ladusau-Evans serving as custodian of the funds.
Condolences can be made at www.ladusauevans.com.
(Submitted by family)
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