Obituary of Mary Kay Squire

Mary Kay was born in her grandparents’ home in Shattuck, Oklahoma on September 10, 1924. She grew up during the depression and dustbowl era in a location where “the dust blows and nobody goes.” She remembered having to wear a scarf over her mouth when she walked to school because of the frequent dust storms. These difficult years taught her not to complain, but to get on with life and make the best of it. After high school, she went on to study at the University of Colorado, Boulder in early 1942 just as the U.S. was entering WWII. She joined the Pi Beta Phi sorority and graduated with a degree in business in 1947. She then moved to San Francisco and lived with her brother and his wife. They all loved to play bridge but needed a fourth. Her brother Bill invited a fellow army doctor Robert (Bob) Squire to join them. After dating for two months, Bob proposed and the two were married on August 28, 1948, which was her parents’ anniversary. While Bob was finishing residency in Radiology at University of San Francisco, he was teaching anatomy at Stanford University. During this time, Mary Kay looked for work. She was offered a job as executive assistant to David Packard (of Hewlett-Packard) who at the time was working out of his garage. Unfortunately, she didn’t take the job as she thought they were moving soon. She would have been the number 3 employee! After finishing Residency, the couple moved to Santa Cruz in 1952. Their son Robert Craig was born in 1954 and their daughter Melinda Kay followed in 1955. Mary Kay was known for her beautiful gardens and arranged flowers each Sunday for University Baptist Church (now High Street Church) for over 30 years. She was also an excellent seamstress and sewed clothes for the whole family. She served on the Santa Cruz Grand Jury for a year and was president of the Women’s Medical Auxiliary in 1962. Mary Kay helped out as room mother at Westlake Elementary, was active in PTA, Cub Scouts and Brownies during her children’s early years. She was a fun and loving mother who made beautiful birthday cakes for her children and elegantly wrapped presents for the family. She was married for 72 years until Bob passed away in January 2020. Mary Kay is survived by her two children, Robert Craig Squire, and Melinda Kay Schilperoort, six grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren. A private family celebration of her life was held February 9, 1923.