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Mary Ann Kirkham, who won Hawaii's Po'okela Award for theater acting two years in a row in the mid 1980s, died April 10, 2020, in Bellevue, Wash. She was 97.She was born Mary Ann Reynolds on Oct. 8, 1922, in Washington, D.C., to William and Irene Reynolds.
Mary graduated from the Academy of the Holy Names in 1940 and from the College of Notre Dame in Baltimore in 1944. She earned a Master's Degree in Social Work from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in 1948.
While employed as a social worker in Toledo, Ohio, in the late 1940s, she met Dr. Lindsay Jack Kirkham. They married on July 15, 1952, and moved to Mason City, Iowa.
During her years in Iowa, Mary was active in many organizations and in 1955, was one of the founders of the Mental Health Center of North Iowa. She would later work for the center as a therapist from 1973 to 1977.
Later in life, she and her husband also lived in Clear Lake, Iowa, before moving to Honolulu in the early 1980s. They moved to Sun City West, Ariz., in 1988, and to the Seattle area in 1997.
A loving mother, devoted spouse, and good friend, Mary was a terrific storyteller and with a wonderful sense of humor.
Mary had many interests, but her greatest was for acting. As a child, she frequently performed dramatic readings, and once appeared before the governor of Maryland.
Mary studied acting with renowned acting coach Terence Knapp at the University of Hawaii and later was nominated for Best Actress in the state's Po'okela theater awards three years in a row, winning for " 'Night Mother," and "Da." The third nomination was for the title role in "The Madwoman of Chaillot." In 1985, she landed a small speaking role opposite Tom Selleck in an episode of "Magnum, P.I." called "The Treasure of Kalaniopu'u."
For several years, she volunteered as a tour guide at Hawaii's famed Iolani Palace.
After the move to Lynnwood, Wash., Mary was heavily involved in the homeschooling of her grandchildren, Kaille and Campion Kirkham, teaching them French and coaching them in acting.
She was preceded in death by her husband on Aug. 19, 2016, and by sister Elizabeth Reynolds Hanson, and brothers William Reynolds Jr. and Joseph Reynolds.
She is survived by children Clifford of Seattle, William of Elizabeth, N.J., Richard of Bellevue, Wash., Maura of Madison, Wis., Jeffrey (and daughter-in-law Eileen) of Seattle, Christine (Tina) of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Douglas of Bothell, Wash.; and by grandchildren Kaille Kirkham of Tokyo, Japan, and Campion Kirkham of Seattle.
Her ashes will be interred at Purdy Walters of Floral Hills cemetery in Lynnwood, Wash. A memorial service will be planned for a future date.
