Mary Keenan Dawley Fugate

Fugate, Mary Keenan Dawley passed away on September 3, 2024 at the age of 93. Her death was quiet and calm in the apartment she had lived in for almost seven years at Juniper Villages Lincoln Heights, San Antonio, Texas. Mary transplanted to Texas to be near family in her later years, but considered herself a northerner. She was born in Rochester, Minnesota May 20, 1931 to Dr. Walter Averill Dawley and Kathleen Keenan Dawley. The young family soon moved to Rapid City, South Dakota where Dr. Dawley set up his surgical practice and Mary grew up. Mary had two brothers, Charles Lansing Dawley and Dr. John Averill Dawley, and one sister, Jane Garland Dawley. Mary attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota and then finished her Bachelor of Science at University of Colorado in Boulder where she met her life partner, Thomas Wayne Fugate. They married in December 1953. Wayne joined the Navy and Mary followed him to Virginia. They then moved to Little Rock, Arkansas. Mary and Wayne had four children: Michael Wayne Fugate, John Thomas Fugate, Kathleen Elizabeth Fugate, and Barbara Jane Fugate. In 1968 the family moved to Creve Coeur, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Mary was very involved in both Boy and Girl Scouting, serving as Cub Scout Leader, Girl Scout Leader, even the ever-important Girl Scout Cookie Chair. She was supportive of her children's many activities and school accomplishments. Mary was proud that all four children finished advanced education in either trade school or university. In 1979 Mary and Wayne moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for Wayne's career in chemical engineering. Mary finally had time to pursue an avid interest of hers, genealogy. She studied to become a Certified Genealogical Researcher. With these skills she contributed to the publication of The Fugate Family of Russell County, Virginia and became editor of the Fugate Family Newsletter which focused on research into Fugate descendants. Mary continued her work even as she and Wayne moved to Tucson, Arizona for retirement in 1990. Wayne passed away in 2010 and Mary moved to be near her daughter in a two-bedroom apartment in Minneapolis. There she was able to enjoy the cold winters she had loved in her youth. In 2017 as she needed more attention she moved into her apartment in San Antonio. She was regularly visited by her daughters, sons, son-in-law and grandchildren. Mary is survived by her son Mike and wife Tina, her son John, daughter Kathleen and husband Ralph, daughter Barb, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. A memorial service to celebrate Mary's life will be held at 1:00 PM on Sunday, October 13, 2024, at Mission Park Funeral Chapels South in San Antonio, Texas. Donations in Mary's honor may be given to National Audubon Society or the World Wildlife Fund for Nature.

Published on September 17, 2024