Mary Ann (Davis) Flunder

Life’s Reflection

Mary Ann (Davis) Flunder, was born on March 8, 1934 in Omaha, Nebraska.  She was the oldest of six daughters raised by James and Katherine Bailey, in Kansas City, Kansas.  Mary Ann was preceded in death by her parents, husband Admiral Flunder. 

Mary Ann was born and raised in the northeast area of Kansas City, Kansas.  She received her early education at Our Lady of Perpetual Help and was a graduate of Sumner High School, class of 1952.

Mary Ann was married to Clinton Smith, who also preceded her in death, and to this union five children were born.  In 1963, Mary Ann and Admiral Flunder were married and one daughter was born to this union of 45 years. She was a life-long member of Our Lady & St. Rose Catholic Church.

From 1973-1975 she held the positions of Executive Director and Vista Supervisor at Turner House.  For more than 20 years, her employment continued as the Housing System Director of the Economic Opportunity Foundation. During this time period, she and Admiral owned a neighborhood store, “ Flunder’s”.

One of the most rewarding positions she held was as Director of the Office of Minority Affairs for the University of Kansas from 1985 through 1992.  In this capacity she challenged to recruit high caliber minority student in the field of Engineering and Health from across the country.  She was instrumental with the initiation of the Upward Bound program, a program that is still in existence and supports college bound high school youth from lower socio-economic households.   Mary Ann was an advocate for young people of color garnering a degree in higher- education; as such all of her children completed a college degree of some level.  This expectation is evident throughout generations, as all of her decedents are invested in community efforts across multiple sectors, thus continuing her legacy.

As an untiring advocate of youth, she founded Careers, Inc.  This organization assisted youth to travel and be exposed to numerous college campuses throughout the United States that broaden their vision geographically in their pursuit of higher education.

For the last 20+ years, Mrs. Flunder has been a Board of Trustees member at the Kansas City Kansas Community College.  During these years recruitment of students both traditional and nontraditional, continue to increase the enrollment with her assistance, especially for the nursing and mortuary science departments.  Adult nontraditional students continue to be first in her recruitment efforts.

Over the past 50 years, Mary Ann has served on at least 50 boards either locally, statewide and nationally.   She received the following awards:  The National McCarthy Award from the Optimist; Outstanding Service Award from the State of Kansas Federation of Democratic Women; Coordinator of the National Convention of the Federation of Democratic Women held here in Kansas City, Kansas 2005; The NAACP Humanitarian Award; The Greater Kansas City Chapter of the LINKS, INC. in Education; Merit Award from Turner House; Spirit Award from the Gillis Center; Key To The City of Kansas City, Kansas; Kansas City Kansas Public School Reasons To Believe Award.  Her most notable achievement in 2015 was the invitation to attend the State of the Union Address in Washington, DC of President Barack Obama.

She leaves to cherish her sweet memory Reginald T. Smith, Houston, Texas; Clinton E. Smith, Kansas City, Missouri; Castina E. Cooper, Kansas City, Kansas; Kim Y. Macpherson, Corinth, Texas; Jesse V. Smith, Kansas City, Kansas; and Thalia M. Cherry, Kansas City, Missouri; five grandchildren; five great grandchildren; five sisters, Rev. Beulah M. Gaskin; Ruby Dale Smith; Barbara A. Bailey; Gretta J. Kelsey; Linda (Kay Kay) Bailey; nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and friends.

In lieu of flowers, Please donate to the KCKCC Mary Ann Flunder Scholarship fund.

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