Mary Jane Wolfe, a beloved Youth Rally counselor, passed away Thursday November 8, 2007 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She was an inspiration to everyone and will be missed tremendously. Mary Jane attended the very first Youth Rally and everyone thereafter, except for one summer when she was hospitalized. Her passion for the Rally was evident by her dedication and enthusiasm. She impacted not only the campers but also the adult staff members. In fact, I would venture to say that she impacted everyone she came across.
Mary Jane was born April 5, 1951, in Kankakee, Illinois with Spina Bifida. She was paralyzed from the waist down and relied on a wheelchair for mobility. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, and was a member of the University of Illinois' first women's wheelchair basketball team. Later she represented the United States as a member of the Handicap Olympics Archery Team at the London, England games.
The University of Illinois bestowed upon her the Harold Scharper Service/Humanitarian Achievement Award in 1973 and the T.J. Nugent Award for Outstanding Leadership and Service in 2004. She also received the national VFW's Unsung Heroine Award.
In 1975 Mary Jane began her volunteer work with the United Ostomy Association (UOA), which she continued over the next 32 years. She proudly volunteered as the UOA representative to Illinois, and then to all the Mid-West; she served on and chaired their national conference planning committee; she served on the Board of Directors and completed a term as National Secretary. In 1990 she received UOA's highest volunteer service honor, the Sam Dubin Award. In June of 2001, she was awarded the "Outstanding Service Award" by the Ostomy Association of Boston (a Chapter of the UOA), having moved there to pursue her career in the textbook editing field. She joined the board and served as President of the ''Friends of Ostomates Worldwide-US'', a group dedicated to making quality ostomy products and information available in developing countries around the world. At the time of her passing she was serving as National Secretary for the United Ostomy Associations of America and was a very active member of the YRC Youth Rally.
Fond Memories Of A Truly Special Lady
Please take some time to share your cherished memories of Mary Jane Wolfe. It is important during a time of loss that we are able to express our grief and share our feelings. We are all heartbroken and it would be lovely to hear everyone's stories as we work through this difficult time. We will compile the memories and post them on this site as they come in.
Share Your Memories
I was a Youth Rally participant and counselor from 1984 through the early 90's. After the demise of the UOA, I wasn't sure the Rally existed anymore. I was delighted when I received my first e-newsletter from Hollister this week and discovered your link. I'm so glad you're still going strong, but I was greatly saddened to learn of Mary Jane's passing.
My experiences with the Youth Rally were transformative in ways I didn't even begin to understand until years later. Prior to the rally, the only ostomates I had known were elderly. Being exposed to peers my own age facing the same challenges, and to young adults who were going about building rich, successful lives instilled in me a belief that I could do the same. Mary Jane was an exceptional role model at a time when I very much needed one; a woman with a disability who did not let it define her, who never let her disability become her identity. The world was simply a better place for having her in it. Rest well, Mary Jane.
- Candi (Wakeman) Lee
Being a new-kid-on-the-block to Youth Rally, I first met Mary Jane in 2004. I am a person who doesn't remember names very well. I tend to use mind tricks to remember names that associate with a person's personality, and so I imagined darling little black patent leather Mary Jane shoes order to remember her first name. It's not that she actually wore these shoes; the two happy images simply fit quite nicely together. That's probably the best word I could use to describe Mary Jane--Happy, like a ray of sunshine. I've always seen those little shoes on smilinglittle girls, and while Mary Jane was not a little girl, she was a darling person with a huge smile plastered on her face at all times. I could just imagine her as a little girl with tiny little shiny shoes, smiling until her face would break! So, at Rally, when I saw Mary Janeand wished to address her by name but couldn't remember for the life of me, the image of those little black patent leather shoes popped into my head. Just a little trick that I've learned over the years... Now, when I hear the words 'Mary Jane', not only will I see little girl shoes in my mind, I will also see the smiling face of a very special Rally friend.
- Marie Oren-Sosebee, RN, BSN, CWOCN
My memories of Mary Jane are very fond, of her smile and her enthusiasm. Like Liz, I never had close association to people with wheelchairs. I was amazed the first time that I saw Mary Jane walk!! I have watched her with amazement so many times, dancing on the dance floor - going on the rides at all the amusement parks that we have been too, getting up in the morning to be sure that the kids in chairs are in the showers, talking to my girls this past summer, spending time to give them a sense of worth. She will be sorely missed by me.
- Deb Patterson, RN, CWOCN
I had the pleasure of being Mary Jane's room mate at about 10 of the 23 Youth Rallies I attended. She has been a real inspiration and a true friend to all who had the opportunity to share time with her. Anyone who had any type of self esteem issues quickly learned their importance as a person and the true value of the person inside. I have so many fond memories of Mary Jane, but I think one of my most favorite is her influence on other young women in wheelchairs. In particular, one young lady came to the rally, and when MJ was checking her into her room, she promptly said "Oh, I don't make my bed, I can't". She quickly learned that "can't" was not an option in MJ's eyes and left the rally doing more for herself than she ever dreamed, including making her own bed. Mary Jane will be sorely missed by all who have had the pleasure of knowing her. One thing that has comforted me during this time of loss was to realize just how much Mary Jane's faith has meant to her. My life is truly blessed because I have had the opportunity to get to know her.
- Vickie Schafer (Weaver)
I met Mary Jane at my very first UOA annual meeting in Anaheim, CA in 1985. She rolled toward me in the hallway, told me she had heard of me, and asked if I would be interested in being a volunteer at the UOA Youth Rally. That was the beginning of a relationship of over 20 years of working together with kids at the rally. One particular day, we had a group of local volunteers helping us transport kids to the San Diego Zoo, and one of the volunteers became visibly upset over a ''spill'' one of our kids was experiencing. Being a young male full of testosterone, I got in this guy's face and unpolitely asked him to apologize to the child for creating a publicly embarrassing situation. Mary Jane rolled to the rescue, grabbed one of my hands, and one of the volunteer's hands, and put them together. Need I say more? Mary Jane will be sorely missed by everyone who was ever touched by her.
- Paul J. Hastings
I was blessed to meet Mary Jane when I attended my very first Youth Rally in 1995. Even though I was an RN I had never really had the opportunity to ''live with'' someone that used a wheelchair. I found myself with a level of discomfort because instinctually I wanted to ''help'' her. Mary Jane quickly and kindly let me know that she was quite independent and that until she asked for help I needed to respect her space. That year I learned that a person with a physical disability often has more ability than those without. My ''fear'' of a people with handicaps disappeared and out of that experience grew a new found respect - particularly for my dear friend Mary Jane. This was just one of the lessons that Mary Jane taught me. Over the following years Mary Jane continued to enlighten me. She is truly one of the ''GREATS'' in my life.
- Liz Hiltabidel RN, CWOCN
While some people would have stayed out of the limelight with a mobility handicap in addition to an ostomy, Mary Jane chose instead to be very public - she taught math after graduating college, then became a textbook editor. This career, and her several volunteer interests, made it necessary to travel to all kinds of meetings - and gave her a platform to continue 'teaching' others. I had the occasion to witness her educate an airport worker who insisted on directing ''wheelchairs'' to a particular security gate. Mary Jane was not about to accept that label, informing him vigorously that she was NOT a wheelchair but rather a person who happened to use a wheelchair. He had the grace to look chastened, although he didn't apologize. But she wasn't after apologies - her aim was to pave the road for those who would come after her, so they would receive more sensitive, appropriate and equal treatment.
- Linda Aukett
Mary Jane attended all the rallies. She was always such a strong supporter and helper in the years that I chaired that group. If I were tired or wrung out, I only had to look at her and get a renewal. She will be sorely missed.
- Marilyn Mau