She was born on March 20, 1952, in Kansas City, MO to Charles J. Boehm and Mary Ida Herman Boehm. Mary Beth was raised in the Herman Hill neighborhood in Kansas City, MO and graduated from O’Hara High School in 1970. Mary Beth attended the University of Missouri at Kansas City, where she received a bachelor’s and master’s degree.
Mary Beth was an online editor and director at KERA – TV Channel 13 public television where she worked for 25 years. Her credits include the national public television productions “New Tastes from Texas”, “Roy Bedichek’s Vanishing Frontier”, and “JFK: Breaking the News” and many local productions including “CEO”, “Frame of Mind”, “Fit to Stitch”, many news and public affairs programs and political debates.
In 2003, she was honored with a Lone Star Emmy for Special Achievement in High-Definition Programming for her editing of “Texas: State of Water.” She received a Telly award for her editing of “Speaking of Women’s Health” also in 2003.
In 1993, she began volunteering for the video ministry at the Cathedral of Hope church in Dallas, TX, where she continued as a director for many years.
From 1994 until her death, she served as the production manager for the Dallas Video Festival; an exhibition of independent media from around the world.
In 2018, she produced the short “Love Sug”, a tribute to a World War II wife featuring her mother’s letters to her husband during the war.
After her retirement in 2022, she began volunteering as the video editor and director for PF Warriors, an international support group for people with pulmonary fibrosis. She continued this work until her death.
Mary Beth previously worked at the Sherwood Center in Kansas City, MO where she became a foster parent to Henry Rabin, a relationship she continued throughout her life.
Her family and friends will always remember Mary Beth as a loyal, kind, smart, and funny person. She was a talented, calm professional and a true team player who mentored many others in her career.
In her spare time, she enjoyed sports, music, reading and spending time with people she loved. She was a talented keyboard player for several bands and entertained family and friends with her music.
She is preceded in death by her father, Charles J. Boehm (Bud) and her mother, Mary Ida Herman Boehm.
Mary Beth is survived by her foster son, Henry Rabin of Kansas City, Missouri and her partner, Kathy Porter of Dallas, Texas. She is also remembered and survived by a large extended family including many Boehm and Herman cousins and the family that she chose later in life that includes the Porter family.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that you make a donation to a charitable organization in her memory. Mary Beth supported many non-profit organizations in her life. Her favorites included the Sherwood Center in Kansas City, Missouri, the Dallas Video Association, KERA-13 Public Television of Dallas, Texas, and the PF Warriors.
A celebration of life for Mary will be held Saturday, August 17, 2024, at 4:00 PM at Cathedral of Hope, 5910 Cedar Springs Rd, Dallas, Texas 75235. Calvary Hills Funeral Home, Dallas, Texas will handle the Texas arrangements.
A celebration of life for Mary Beth will be held Monday, September 9, 2024, Starting at 11:00 AM at McGilley & Sheil Funeral Home, 11924 East 47th Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64133. Inurnment to follow at Mt Olivet Cemetery, 7601 Blue Ridge Blvd, Raytown, Missouri 64138.
DONATIONS
Sherwood Center in Kansas City, Missouri
the Dallas Video Association
KERA-13 Public Television of Dallas, Texas
the PF Warriors
SHARE OBITUARYSHARE
v.1.11.6