AC_1965_Web

102 AN T I OC H CO L L E G E C L A S S O F 19 6 5 5 0 t h A N N I V E R S A R Y B O O K A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z WRITTEN BY PENNY STORM, HER COLLEGE ROOMMATE AND FRIEND M A R Y J A N E G A S T O N McCord was a farm girl in Salem, Ill. She re- turned to the area frequently to visit her aging father and do a“work proj- ect” to keep his home in order.After he had to be placed in assisted liv- ing, she just went to visit and came to Antioch for work project where she excelled as a painter (both on walls and on herself). This was fun for me as after Antioch, she (and hus- band Jim McCord ’64/’65) moved to the west coast so we rarely got to see each other. In 2008, work project contin- ued in spite of Antioch’s closure. Participants were housed in the Yellow Springs community but we were allowed to use the Coretta Scott King Center for meals. There was only cold water and no stove or even a microwave. We did have a small fridge, just big enough for a gallon of milk and a head of lettuce. Mary Jane said that she would take care of the food. She sent an elec- tric frying pan to the college and that was her stove and her source of hot water for doing dishes.We had fantastic food! Spinach omelets for breakfast.Grilled cheese sandwiches and salad for lunch—she had other cold sandwiches but most everyone wanted her grilled cheese as they were magic.None of us realized that she had advanced colon cancer and it would be her last work project. After completing her degree in biology from Antioch, Mary Jane joined Jim in Berkeley while he com- pleted his master’s and they moved to Seattle before settling down in Goleta, Calif., in 1967. She loved Goleta where her children, Holly and Scott, were raised. Mary Jane served many chari- table organizations, including the Family Service Agency of Santa Barbara, CALM, the Junior League; and Planned Parenthood, for which she organized and volunteered at the annual book sale for the last 35 years. The sale was renamed “The Mary Jane McCord Planned Parenthood Book Sale” in her honor. I looked forward to the book sale even though I was never able to at- tend. It is a huge sale, the largest in the tri-counties, and she made sure that the books were carefully orga- nized. I would get an encapsulated picture of the range as she would tell me the“best” titles.Those phone calls were full of laughter. For the 23 years before her death, Mary Jane was a substitute teacher at Laguna Blanca School, which held a celebration of her ded- ication and contributions to its com- munity in March while she was still well enough to enjoy the occasion. She always planned special treats for the students and just adored being with them. She knew all of the stu- dents and was involved with them even when not being a sub. As the school noted when she died, Mary Jane had “been a vibrant part of the Laguna community for more than 30 years and ... touched the lives of hundreds with her caring ways. After Mary Jane and Jim di- vorced, she remained close to Jim’s family. She was an active grand- mother with Holly’s sons, Andrew and Matthew, and was lucky enough to see Scott’s first son, Max, before her death. Mary Jane treated everyone with dignity and compassion. She faced life and death with wit and cu- riosity.What a lucky person I was to have roomed with her and to have had her as a friend! M c C O R D McCORD MARY JANE GASTON THEN AND NOW 4 B.A. Biology FAMI LY 4 Husband, James 4 Chidren, Holly and Scott