Mary Anne Klinck was born to Merrill Klinck and Rita Wilson in 1953. Her birth was uncomplicated; there were no medical issues to speak of. For two years, she was an average, happy, smiling, precocious baby girl. Then, as she approached her third birthday, she contracted the measles. Unfortunately, her bout of the measles was complicated. It had a major effect on her brain, which eventually led to Cerebral Palsy. One week she was walking and talking – the next she was totally incapacitated. She couldn’t walk, talk, or control her body in any way.
Merrill and Rita did all that they could to help their daughter. They met with neurologists, brain surgeons, and even flew to Baltimore to see a specialist. But in the 1950s, there was little that could be done to appease the nature of her disorder. So instead, they did all that they could to create a loving, interactive, and social life for her.
They taught her to communicate by showing her how to raise her hand for “Yes!” According to family, if you were asking questions about something she was excited about, she could shoot her arm straight up over her head! She loved to have books read to her and to watch television. And she also loved the social activities she participated in outside her home with other CP kids through organizations like UCP and Les Passes.
When Mary Anne reached her twenties, her health began to seriously decline. She began having major organ problems, fluid on her lungs wouldn’t allow her to sit up, and she temporarily lost her sight. In May of 1979, Mary Anne died peacefully in her sleep. She was 26 years old.
| To read about the very interesting history of Les Passes, visit their website. |
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Fun
fact:
The lightweight, ergonomic wheelchairs you see today did not exist in the 1950s when Mary Anne needed one. Most families were left to fend for themselves when it came to the transport of their handicapped children.
Luckily, a family friend was able to help.
Merrill and Rita knew Buddy and Dell Mariencheck through their mutual friends, the McCarthys. Buddy built chairs not only for his son, Tom, who also had CP, but for countless other children.
Buddy and his friend Vince "Butch" Brunner designed chairs based on the individual needs and physical abilities of each child. They made at least two chairs for Mary Anne, one of which was a "potty" chair. The seat featured a removable panel that could be slid out, a bedpan moved in, and then removed again. A few years later, Mary Anne's older brother Paul married Buddy and Dell's daughter, Joyce. And we all sing, "It's a small world after all ..." |
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| Personal Data | Tombstone Data | ||
| Birth: | 25 Apr 1953 | City: | Memphis, TN |
| Marriage: | N/A | Cemetery: | Calvary |
| Death: | 31 May 1979 | Section: | |
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