Mary Jane Kettler

Mary Jane Kettler

May 4, 1949 - October 8, 2025

With gratitude for the light she shone on the world around her and grief for her passing, we honor the life of Mary Jane Kettler, lived in faith, service, and generosity of spirit.

Mary Jane was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Herbert and Benthal Kettler. Her older brother Bill recalls being asked by their parents to help name his new sister. Their mother chose the name Mary, after her own mother's name; Bill, in first grade at the time, chose a girl's name from his school reader: Jane.

Mary Jane grew up with an intense sense of curiosity and wonder. At the age of ten, she discovered an article about origami in an issue of Scientific American her big brother Bill brought home during his senior year of high school. Her fascination with origami and the universal language of mathematics linking the worlds of logic, art, and beauty would last throughout her life.

In 1971, Mary Jane graduated from Miami University (Ohio) and moved to Atlanta to teach fifth grade math at Charles Drew Elementary School. She left her teaching position in 1979 to enroll in Georgia State University where she earned a master's degree in Testing, Measurement, and Statistics in 1984. While a student at GSU, until she retired in 2003, Mary Jane worked in the Office of Regents Testing where she scored regents tests and analyzed the results of those tests for the state of Georgia.

During her time at Georgia State, Mary Jane was deeply involved in the community at Trinity United Methodist Church, a downtown congregation that had lost many longtime members but welcomed a diverse new community, from recent college graduates to neighbors experiencing homelessness. Mary Jane took the youth of Trinity under her wing-not just teaching Sunday School, but becoming a mentor, guide, and friend to many children who remained part of her life for decades.

Her commitment to service extended far beyond the church. Mary Jane volunteered with Atlanta Habitat for Humanity, then a small but growing organization dedicated to helping families achieve homeownership. Even after health challenges made it difficult for her to participate in construction, she continued her volunteer work serving on the Habitat interview committee in all its aspects, working tirelessly behind the scenes. Over more than forty years, she played a leading role in helping Habitat grow and in transforming countless lives through stable housing.

During her time at Habitat for Humanity, Mary Jane was twice recognized for her volunteer work. In 2003, she received the WXIA-TV Community Service Award. As she explained it in the Kettler family newsletter that she compiled and edited, "Each year the local NBC affiliate picks 11 people to honor....The awards are given at a black-tie dinner where they show a 2 to 3 minute film that they have made about each recipient. We also gave acceptance speeches and the whole thing was televised during prime time here in Atlanta. [My sister-in-law] Georgie came all the way from Chicago to attend the dinner with Fred [Brown] and me and that made it all the more special." Five years later, in 2008, during the Atlanta Habitat for Humanity's 25th anniversary celebration, Mary Jane received another award from the organization "in recognition of extraordinary dedication."

Mary Jane also developed a remarkable reputation as a mathematics tutor, working with students of all ages across Atlanta. She was known for her patience, encouragement, and deep understanding of how students learn. One former student recalled that Mary Jane was "a natural mentor." Her calm presence and thoughtful conversation eased the pressure that often accompanies learning. Others described how she inspired confidence by offering multiple ways to approach a problem so each student could find their own path to understanding. Her curiosity and creativity extended beyond math; she shared with her students an appreciation for origami and cross-stitch, finding beauty in the patterns and logic that connected art and mathematics.

In 2003, when Mary Jane retired from Georgia State she returned to her first love-teaching middle school math at St. Thomas More Catholic School. Her fellow teachers, former students and their parents admire her as a devoted teacher who "never gave up on her students and always challenged them to be better." Another parent recalls something Mary Jane told her son when he was frustrated with his schoolwork: "There is no doubt in my mind that you will have every skill needed to do whatever you choose to do with your life." Another parent added, "I remember the giant sunflowers she had in her room, she loved them so much. She told me one time her students were like her sunflowers, beautiful." As one of her colleagues put it, "Our school mission statement is 'reaching out to the world as the hands of Christ.' Mary Jane led by example to the students in carrying out our mission. God is good all the time and we thank God for blessing us with Mary Jane."

Mary Jane supported her students in every area of their lives, attending numerous weddings, performances, parties, graduations, and other events outside of school, and even provided financial assistance in the form of always-anonymous donations. She founded (and funded) the school Origami Club, sharing her love of art, math, and design with any student who showed an interest.

Throughout her adult life, Mary Jane pursued her own interest in origami by attending and sometimes teaching at workshops and conferences, local, national, and international. As one member of her far-flung network of friends in the origami world put it, "Mary Jane enjoyed folding many types of origami models, but modular and geometrics were her favorites. In addition to being an excellent folder, she was a very capable teacher, sharing the joy of origami at every gathering she attended.... I have many, many more Mary Jane stories, but the theme is the same; kindness and sharing with her students, her friends and her community. She leaves a deep scar on my heart."

Her love of artful and tactile pattern drew her to textile arts where she was especially gifted in creating appliqué and patchwork quilts. The exacting precision that made her excel in origami made her quilts, especially those of her own design, true works of art. She enjoyed expressing herself in knitting as well, especially when it connected her to others who enjoyed fun with sticks and string.

Mary Jane, who loved both creating and sharing, was as generous in sharing her opinions as she was with sharing the joy of math and skill with origami. Those who knew and loved her best recount many stories of clearly expressed views, adding that they will especially miss those special, "very Mary Jane" moments.

Mary Jane was devoted to documenting her family's history. She traveled to Germany and across the United States to see where her family once lived, to gather stories, and to carefully preserve every detail. She saved family newsletters, letters, and handwritten notes from long ago that described gifts, events, and small everyday moments, the kind of treasures that weave her family's story together. As her niece recalls, "She truly was the glue that kept our extended family connected. She made it a priority to attend family reunions and to keep in touch with everyone." Her niece adds, "Anyone who truly knew Mary Jane also knew she could be fiery, strong-willed, determined, and fiercely independent. She got this from her mother, whom she deeply admired for being a trailblazer and a remarkably strong woman. That strength and independence defined her in all the best ways. Mary Jane was also compassionate, kind, and deeply devoted to helping others. Whether through her teaching, her volunteerism, or simply how she showed up for those around her, she made a difference. She embodied what it means to be impactful. I use Mary Jane as an example of how to live, with curiosity, generosity, strength, and love."

As Mary Jane's nephew puts it, "Mary Jane was kind, smart, and warm. The glint in her eye when she explained something or told a story expressed wisdom and passion. It always drew me in. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment I ever spent with her."

One of Mary Jane's great-nieces adds, "One of my favorite memories is the long weekend I spent with her, when I got to be a "visiting student" at her school. I met the teachers and students and traveled to each class. It was such a fun and special experience to see her in her element, teaching with so much love and being loved by the students. I was a Mathlete on my school Math Team and went to the Georgia State Competition. She was always so proud of that and loved that we shared the same love of math."

As Mary Jane's other great-niece concludes, "I will cherish every beautiful moment and strive to keep her memory alive by teaching my own daughter the lessons I learned from Mary Jane: the importance of kindness and acts of service, finding opportunities for silliness and laughter, the enchanting world of origami and mathematics, appreciation for the natural beauty all around us, seeing the value in both big and small things, and holding dear the love of those around us. Mary Jane touched so many lives and made friends everywhere she went. I hope she knew how deeply she was loved."

Mary Jane was predeceased by the love of her life, Fred Brown. She is survived by her brother, Herbert William "Bill" Kettler; her nephew and niece, Nathan Kettler and Sara (Kettler) Cloud; her great-nieces, Ashley and Audrey Cloud; and her great-great niece, Ashley's daughter, Ivy Cloud-Yaklin.

Mary Jane's funeral service will be held on Saturday, November 1, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 636 W. Ponce de Leon Ave. Decatur, GA 30030-2951; telephone 404-378-4588.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Atlanta Habitat for Humanity: https://www.atlantahabitat.org/

Mary Jane touched countless lives. She will be remembered for her kindness, humility, and unwavering dedication to helping others.