Mary Jean Kirsch

After a long-fought and courageous battle of heart and kidney disease, Mary Jean “MJ” Kirsch, 67, of Walkersville, Md. passed away Monday, July 17, 2023, at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. She was the beloved wife of Richard “Rich” Jean-Baptiste DuBois for 15 years. Born April 8, 1956, in Spangler, Pa., she was the only daughter of the late Gerald J. Kirsch and Mary Grace Kirsch (née Bearer), of Northern Cambria, Pa. Following her mother’s sudden death when Mary Jean was 4 years old, her father married a second time to the late Dr. Marian L. Westrick, who adopted and raised Mary Jean as one of her own.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism from St. Francis College (now St. Francis University) in Loretto, Pa., she started her career near her hometown of Nicktown, Pa. before relocating to the Washington, D.C. area. She found her way to the construction industry, where she used her quintessential “German-Irishness” to shatter glass ceilings, becoming one of the first female project managers in the American construction industry. About a decade later, she relocated to Walkersville, Md., where she remained until her passing.

As a high school senior, Mary Jean took the rigorous exam for the highly competitive “Betty Crocker Search for the All-American Homemaker of Tomorrow” scholarship program and won an award. She was a talented seamstress, winning multiple 4-H Sewing Awards, and used her impeccable skills to make Halloween costumes for herself and son, Andrew Paul Huber. She was also talented in cross-stitching, knitting, quilting, and baking, often making her mother’s recipes for family and friends. But most of all, Mary Jean enjoyed the simple pleasures of life and was a constant source of strength in life’s turbulent waters.

In addition to her father, mother, and adopted mother, Mary Jean was preceded in death by her brother, Dennis.

In addition to her husband and son, Mary Jean is survived by her brothers, Jeffrey and wife Charlene, Phillip, and Alton and wife Paula, along with numerous nieces, nephews, and lifelong friends.

We ask all who attend Mary Jean’s funerary services to incorporate the color red into their attire.

Her visitation will be held on Friday, July 28 from 6-8 PM at Stauffer Funeral Home, 40 Fulton Ave, Walkersville, Md. A mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, July 29 at 10 AM at St. Timothy Catholic Church, 8651 Biggs Ford Rd, Walkersville, Md. Mary Jean will be interred alongside her parents in accordance with her wishes at St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church, 1169 Alverda Rd, Nicktown, Pa. where a gravesite memorial and burial will be held on Monday, July 31 at 11 AM. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Jude at www.stjude.org.