Mary Comegys

Mary E. Comegys, 95, of Springfield, formerly of Seneca, died Saturday, July 12, at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield. Mass of Christian burial will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, at St. Patrick's Church in Seneca with the Rev. Joseph Anderson officiating. Burial will be at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Seneca. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday with prayers at 7 p.m. at the Osborne-Nelson Funeral Home in Seneca. Ms. Comegys was born Jan. 21, 1913, in Seneca, to Daniel "DB" and Sarah "Sadie" (O'Hare) Comegys. She was a graduate of Saint Patrick's Grade School in Seneca and Seneca Township High School. She received a Bachelor of Arts from the College of Saint Francis in Joliet; and a Master of Arts from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. She began her teaching career (11 years) in the Seneca School System. For 18 years she taught history at Thornton Township High School, from 1963 until her retirement in 1975, she taught political science at Thornton Community College. In 1961 she was one of 76 public high school teachers in the country awarded the John Hay Fellowship, studying at the University of California at Berkeley. She was a member of St. Patrick's Church in Seneca, and a charter board member of the Seneca Public Library. She is survived by nephew, Daniel E. (Susan) Kepner of Springfield; five nieces, Carol L. (Norm) Reiser of Morton, Bonnie J. (Claude) Kracik of Park Ridge, Maureen (Alan) Bradish of Jacksonville, Karen (Frank) Giganti of Springfield, and Mary Jane Kepner of LaGrange; 15 great-nieces and nephews; and 18 great-great-nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by a sister, Jane K. Kepner. Memorials may be directed to Saint Patrick's Church in Seneca.