Mary Jo Park

On the first day of fall, September 22, 1932, in St. Louis, Missouri, William and Josephine Coppinger welcomed their first-born child, Mary Josephine. Sometime around her seventh birthday, the family embarked on the move West, which brought Mary Jo adventure as well as a baby brother, Bill, Jr. The family settled in Long Beach, California.

As a senior at Jordan High School, Mary Jo met the love of her life, a sailor who had just left the U.S. Navy named Kenneth Park. She and Kenny became inseparable. She married him on January 27, 1951. They made their first home in Inglewood, CA. Mary Jo and Kenny saved to buy their first home in Long Beach, CA., where they welcomed their two children, Michael and Kathleen. Both were unwaveringly committed to providing a happy life to their family and worked hard to do so. While she was never big on change, in 1963 Ken persuaded Mary Jo to move to the boondocks of Orange California into a brand new 3 bedroom, 2 bath home which they shared for the rest of their 71-year marriage.

Ken and Mary Jo were quite the team. They played very different, yet equally important parts in building their dream. A great example of their hard work paying off was the mountain cabin they built in Idyllwild. Ken and Mary Jo enjoyed the mountains and loved opening their home for many family get-togethers.

Their next big adventure was Kenny’s retirement. After selling the home in Idyllwild, Ken and Mary Jo kicked off retirement with a three-week U.S road trip. Mary Jo served as navigator using paper maps and pay phones to call ahead for motel reservations. They continued exploring the world by visiting the British Isles, Australia, and did several cruises around Europe, New England, and the Caribbean. They made lifelong friends on these trips.

But their favorite role was being grandparents. They hosted the best sleepovers and planned unforgettable getaways with the grandkids. They loved to share their favorite travel locations, such as the Apple Farm, with their grandchildren. We’re not sure how they managed it, but they always attended their grandchildren’s extracurriculars, graduations, and birthdays. They made sure they were there to celebrate every important moment in their grandchildren’s lives. Mary Jo loved sharing her garden with her grandchildren and cherished having her grand dogs over to visit. There was never a shortage of beautiful freshly cut flowers around the house.

Mary Jo and Kenny prepared the most amazing holiday meals. Many of the family holiday traditions still live on through their kids, and grandkids- like soda bread for St. Patrick’s Day, and scalloped corn for Thanksgiving. While she’d often say she “didn’t love” cooking, she sure could have fooled anyone. Learning her cooking skills from Kenny’s mother, Rae, she regularly made cookies with her grandchildren and prepared extravagant holiday meals. She gave the grandkids a taste of her own childhood favorites by introducing them to delicacies like chipped beef on toast, Vienna sausages, and cottage cheese topped with canned peaches. And ice cream. There was always a variety of flavors of ice cream at the house.

Mary Jo was fiercely loyal to her family and friends. Everyone would describe her as being kind, caring, generous and welcoming. It didn’t matter who you were, she would make you feel safe and loved. When you were with Mary Jo, you felt special. She’d always go out of her way to give you a sly smirk, or secret wink to make sure you knew that she was paying attention to you. Later in life, her caregivers regularly shared how kind and appreciative Mary Jo was. She was a true family force that kept everyone updated, always knew family history, and could remember every detail of every activity. Her memory was her superpower. Her family came to depend upon her memory for all the important milestones. She was never afraid of a fight. Mary Jo battled melanoma for seven years. She endured several surgeries which stole the sight in her left eye, a course of immunotherapy, and 30 rounds of radiation. She didn’t willingly give up, and would proudly show visitors her radiation mask. After a long and impressive fight, Mary Jo succumbed to the disease on November 16, 2023.

Mary Jo ran to Heaven and into the loving arms of her beloved Ken. She leaves behind her son Michael (and wife Vickie); daughter Kathleen; and her grandchildren, Shannon Park, Kelsey Long (and husband Bryan), and Andrew Balcof.

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