Helping others is something that seems to run in Mary Kuehn’s family.
She grew up on a farm and says they didn’t have a lot of money, but they always had extra for others who needed it.
“My dad would share stuff out of his garden. We had meat and eggs and chickens. No one ever came to our house that my mother didn’t feed. It was just our way,” she says.
It’s something that Kuehn has carried on.
MTN News caught up with her on her birthday. She was busy loading up meals at the Columbus Senior Center with her husband Casey that they deliver for the Meals on Wheels program.
It’s something Kuehn says she always looks forward to.
“They are always happy to see us, and we are especially happy to see them. They always like to chat a little,” Kuehn says.
The visits bring more than just a good meal. She takes a few minutes extra to talk with each recipient and leaves them with a hug.
“Some of them who maybe don’t see many people during the day. I think they look forward to us coming,” she says.
For 12 years, before retiring, Mary served as the director of Project Hope, which helps feed and provide clothes for those in need.
“We had a young pastor in our church, and I went to him and said I think I should be doing something useful, and I asked him if he could think of anything and right away, he said a food bank. I thought, oh I hadn’t had anything that big planned,” she laughs.
Project Hope is still going strong and so is Mary.
One of her hobbies is keeping the Bluebird Trail going—building bird houses and monitoring them.
“I’ve always loved birds and watched birds so it just seemed like a real cool thing to do,” she says.
Those are just some of the ways this Super Senior is making a difference in her community.
“It just makes me happy. It’s kind of fun—rather fulfilling,” she says.
Click here to nominate someone for the Q2 Super Senior segment.
