Mary Shaw Branton

Mary Shaw Branton, whose volunteer activities touched the lives of thousands of families in the Kansas City area and beyond, died Monday, June 20, 2016 at her home at Bishop Spencer Place. She was 95.

The daughter of Leslie Leon Shaw and Mary Gentry Shaw, Shawsie (a childhood nickname) was born Nov. 15, 1920, in Kansas City and raised in Independence. She was a graduate of the Sunset Hill School, Bradford Junior College in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and the University of Missouri, where she majored in psychology and sociology. She was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

After graduating from Missouri in 1942, Shawsie worked as a probation officer for the Jackson County Juvenile Court for a year and as director of the Girls Department at Elliott Park Neighborhood House in Minneapolis for two years.

Her greatest, and most impactful, work was never associated with a paycheck. Upon her return to Kansas City, Shawsie began volunteering in the community as a member of the Junior League. Her first placement was at the Delano School for children with cerebral palsy and other disabilities, where she found that the students starting first grade were ill-equipped for academic and social success because there were no preschool programs for handicapped children.

With two fellow League members, Shawsie founded the Cerebral Palsy Nursery School, which opened its doors in 1947. In 1953, a year before the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, she persuaded the nursery school’s board to integrate the program, opening it to children in need throughout the community. Over the years, this small school has grown to become the Children’s Therapeutic Learning Center (TLC), which provides developmental, educational and therapeutic services to young children with a variety of special needs.

Improving the lives of children and families was the underlying focus for many of Shawsie’s volunteer activities. She was a longtime member and chairman of the Children’s Mercy Hospital board and served on the boards of Planned Parenthood, Family and Children’s Services, MOCSA and Camp Fire, among many others. She was the first woman to serve as chairman of the board of the Greater Kansas City YMCA — a commitment she took on when she was 73.

A secondary interest was local history. A longtime friend of Margaret Truman Daniel, the daughter of President and Mrs. Harry S Truman, Shawsie served on the board of the Harry S Truman Museum and Library Institute for 16 years, helping to revitalize the library’s programs during the 1990s. She also was president of the Jackson County Historical Society and chairman of a statewide commission that oversaw renovations to the Governor’s Mansion in Jefferson City in the 1970s.

In 2010, at the age of 90, Shawsie became one of the oldest recipients of the Mary Harriman Community Leadership Award, named for the founder of the Junior League. The award, given by the Association of Junior Leagues International, recognizes an individual Junior League member whose volunteer efforts embody Mary Harriman’s pioneering spirit, her sense of social responsibility and her ability to motivate others to share their talents through effective volunteer action.

“I learned from my parents that if there is a need, fill it,” Shawsie said in a video produced in conjunction with the award. “It’s not what you have; it’s what you do.”

Shawsie was married in 1947 to William Coleman Branton, a lawyer and banker, who died in 1985. She is survived by their daughters Leslie Hoffecker (Fritz) of Alexandria, Virginia, and Page Reed (Bruce) of Kansas City and four grandchildren: Margaret Hoffecker, Thomas Hoffecker, Coleman Reed and Mary Reed.

Shawsie’s family would like to thank the caregivers who were an important part of her life in her last months: Kimberly Jackson, Mary McKinney, Constance Weber and Natasha Williams.

Burial is private. A celebration of her life will be held on Friday, June 24, at 3 p.m. at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, 415 W. 13th St.

No flowers, please — instead, in Shawsie’s memory, we hope you will support one of these organizations — Children’s TLC, 3101 Main St, Kansas City MO 64111 (www.childrenstlc.org); the Truman Library Institute, 500 West U.S. Highway 24, Independence MO 64050 (www.trumanlibraryinstitute.org); Children’s Mercy Hospital, 2401 Gillham Road, Kansas City MO 64108 (www.childrensmercy.org); or Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, 415 W. 13th St., Kansas City MO 64105 (www.kccathedral.org) — or a charity of your choice.

Arrangements under the direction of Mt Moriah, Newcomer & Freeman Funeral Home, Kansas City, MO.