Mary Jane King (Mchargue)

Mary Jane McHargue King of Independence, Mo., passed away on May 31, 2021.

Mary Jane was born on May 5, 1927, to Everett Earl McHargue and Glada McClaskey McHargue in Milan, Mo.

As a child, she lived with her parents and grandparents, William and Effie McHargue, in her grandfather’s hotel in Harris, Mo. One of her earliest memories was riding her tricycle up and down the hallways of the hotel and dodging hotel guests.

She later moves to a farm near Milan Mo. and attended a one-room country schoolhouse and rode to school a pony.

She married Kenneth “Kenny” Clayton King in 1946 and moved to Kansas City to raise her two children, Kenneth and Kathi.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in Art and Art History from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and had a long career at the Social Security Administration.

She and Kenny converted to Catholicism in their 40s and were members of St. Mark’s parish for the rest of their lives.

Mary Jane loved to travel. She and Kenny especially loved Las Vegas and Colorado and took many long expeditions there. After Kenny’s death in 1991, she began taking each of her four grand children on trips to numerous countries in Europe, including England, Ireland, France, Switzerland, and Italy.

She liked the Kansas City Royals, Elton John, and penny slot machines.

Later in life, she went back to work as a courier for a pharmacy delivering prescriptions to nursing homes all around the Kansas City area.

Mary Jane was preceeded in death by her first husband, Marion Eugene Richardson, when he was killed in Italy during WWII, her second husband of 46 years, Kenneth C. King, and daughter-in-law Kathleen (Soligo) King.

She is survived by her daughter Kathi King and parter James Moyer, son Kenneth D. King, four grandchildren, Amy (Ryan) Hayes, Brian King, Kori (David) Finlay, and Kati Smith. She also had four beloved great grandchildren: Fiona, Violet, Vincent, and Victor.