Mary Catherine Rodgers
Mary Catherine Rodgers (nee McDonough) 1925 - 2019
Beloved matriarch of the Rodgers – McDonough clan. Mary Catherine was Vice President of Saint Louis Corporate Travel in charge of leisure travel, and prior to that she taught second grade for 15 years at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Bridgeton, MO. President and Valedictorian of her 1943 class at Rosati-Kain High School, she graduated from Webster University in 1947 and later obtained her Missouri State Teacher Certification from Fontbonne College. Mary Catherine was a Eucharistic Minister and Associate of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. She held a deep devotion to Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ.
Mary Catherine will be remembered for her exuberant love of life and people. She was proud of her Irish heritage and never missed a chance to toast and sing “When Irish Eyes are Smiling.” Mary Catherine was a prolific writer and speaker and nurtured these talents in her children and the students she taught. Her coaching in speech and drama won her students multiple awards. After her teaching career, she reinvented herself as a travel agent and put her talents to work for hundreds of clients who relied on her sense of adventure and hospitality to create vacations of a lifetime. She herself traveled thousands of miles, exploring destinations from Paris to Hawaii, Spain to Japan. Her favorite question: “If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you like to go?” And “When you got there, there was a sense of sadness because you always wanted your friends to be with you.”
She was married to the late Phillip J. Rodgers (1921-1995) for over 40 years and was mother of the late Phillip J. “P.J.” Rodgers, Jr. (1951-1959). She is preceded in death by her brother John “Jack” McDonough. Among her survivors are twin sons, John J. Rodgers and Mark W. Rodgers, and three daughters, Mary Jean (Rodgers) Russell, Katherine (Rodgers) Stirmlinger, Maria Rodgers O’Rourke, and eight granddaughters: Olivia Russell, Alexandra Rodgers, Caitlin Rodgers, Tierney Rodgers, MacKenzie (Stirmlinger) Winkler, Samantha Stirmlinger, Abigail O’Rourke, and Katherine O’Rourke.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital.
Services: Visitation Sunday, January 27, 2019 from 2pm until 4 pm at Ambruster Chapel, 6633 Clayton Road. Visitation Monday, January 29, 2019 from 9am until 10 am at St. Joseph Catholic Church (downtown Clayton), with Mass to follow at 10am.
The Family would like to invite you to share photos and memories of Mary Catherine here on her Memorial page. Please submit your photos to AmbrusterChapel@yahoo.com.
To view shared photos, please click on the following link: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmuHd4yw