Mary Kay Launspach, of Dubuque, died on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 at Unity Point Health-Finley Hospital.  A prayer service will be held at 3:00 pm Monday, May 6, 2024 at Hoffmann Schneider and Kitchen Funeral Home and Crematory followed by visitation until 7:00 pm.

A Mass of Christian Burial for Mary Kay will be 11:00 am Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at Church of the Resurrection with Father Dustin Vu as the Celebrant.  Burial will be in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Key West.

Mary Kay was born July 23, 1934 in Dubuque, IA, daughter of Henry and Catherine O’Malley Ludwig.  She married Dale Launspach on October 17, 1953 at St. Anthony’s Church in Dubuque.  Dale preceded her in death on March 18, 2017.

Mary Kay was from the O’Malley clan on her mother’s side, a true Irish lass.  She graduated from Visitation Academy and attended Clarke College.  She was a member of the Church of the Resurrection.  Mary Kay was a homemaker and raised her seven children while also working as a part-time book editor for William Brown Publishing.  There she was able to use her skill with the English language, a trait she shared with her children by correcting their grammar whenever necessary.  After her children were raised, Mary Kay also worked at the Telegraph Herald in the classified department.

In her early years, Mary Kay was an accomplished tennis player, roaming the courts of Dubuque with her friends including her brother, Dick, and her future husband, Dale.  At seventeen, she was the women’s city tennis champion and would continue the sport throughout her life, including a club championship at Thunder Hills Country Club while in her forties.  She loved to play tennis with her children (as long as they hit the ball to her and didn’t make her run, meanwhile running her kids all over the court!).  She was a fierce competitor with her wooden Bancroft racket, but Mary Kay was never a disciplinarian with her children and, although she threatened to use it often to correct a wayward child, that ping-pong paddle never did make it off of the top of the refrigerator.

In 1967, she lost a beloved son to heart failure and, as with any parent that has lost a child, she carried Marty’s memory with her the rest of her life.  In her late sixties, May Kay suffered a massive stroke.  For a woman that had taken such pride in her physical condition she had to spend the next twenty-two years in a body she struggled to control.  Despite these setbacks, Mary Kay remained a kind, loving person with a quick wit.  During those years she relied heavily on her children, son and daughter-in-laws and grandchildren to retain her independent lifestyle.  Especially helpful was her daughter, Geri.

If you were part of Mary Kay’s family, she loved you with all her heart, unconditionally and loyally.  That was especially true of her 20 grandchildren and 32 great-grandchildren.  Any parent trying to bemoan a misbehaving grandchild or great-grandchild of Grandma Mary Kay was met with the same response – “They are perfect!”  As her body failed her, Mary Kay became an even more avid reader and follower of politics.  She had hoped to vote one more time in 2024.  That dream did not come true but she is in heaven now, her arms wrapped around Marty, as the years of sorrow that came from missing him wash away.   Her family is left to celebrate the life of a woman who died the way she lived – peacefully and gracefully.

Survivors include six children, Mary (Warren) White of Glen Haven, WI, Steve (Tracy) Launspach of Peosta, Gerianne Launspach of Dubuque, Dick (Lori) Launspach of Dubuque, Teri (Brian) Schulz of Asbury, and Maureen (Jeff) Bortscheller of Asbury; 20 grandchildren; 32 great-grandchildren; and one sister-in-law, Barbara Ludwig of Dubuque.

Besides her husband, she was preceded in death by one son, Martin Dale Launspach, her parents, and one brother, Richard Ludwig.

In lieu of flowers, memorials have been established for Mary’s Inn and Opening Doors-Teresa Shelter.

The family thanks the 5th floor nurses at Finley Hospital, the staff at Eagle Point, Katie Duax from No Place Like Home, and Mary Schmidt from Resurrection, for all of their care, prayers, and support.

A photo tribute can be viewed and condolences sent to the family by visiting Mary Kay’s obituary at www.hskfhcares.com.