What a Wonderful Life! Mary Beth Dodge Engleman…
Born July 9, 1920, passed away June 14, 2021.
Known as Besh, Beshie, and Nana, she was quite simply loved by anyone who met her.
Preceded in death by her parents Clifton Blair Dodge Sr. and Marie Rickenbacher Dodge, her brothers C. B. Dodge Jr. and Allen R. Dodge, her infant twin brother, and her husband Howard George Engleman.
Mary Beth was the last of her generation of the Dodge clan, who settled in Salina in the early 1800’s. She essentially lived her entire life in Salina, growing up surrounded by the extended Dodge family and generations of friends. Imagine the changes she saw come to pass for Salina in her 100 years from the 1920’s to the 2020’s.! What a treasure she was of history and of a style of life that is hard to imagine now.
Mary Beth excelled in sports even as a youngster, especially on the backyard tennis court at her childhood home (which is now the Rebecca A. Morrison House). She told wonderful stories of small-town escapades in the 20’s and 30’s, automobile trips to Minnesota with her family, camping in Yosemite, and sailing out to Catalina Island.
She graduated from Salina High School in 1938 and headed to the University of Kansas where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. She majored in Fine Arts at KU and was especially talented in oil painting, silversmithing, and ceramics.
Mary Beth met her future husband, Howard Engleman, at KU where he first saw her on the tennis court and was amazed by her ability to play with the “guys”! They were married in December of 1941 and shortly after Howard was in the Pacific on a US Navy destroyer. Mary Beth moved to San Francisco where his ship was based and worked in a munitions factory there sorting bolts…. she said she was no “Rosie”!! After the war, they and son Dodge returned to Lawrence where she continued her art studies and Howard attended law school. The young family moved to Bartlesville, Oklahoma with Phillips ’66 for a few years, then to Salina where daughters Ann and Mary were born and they lived the rest of their lives.
Her life in Salina was blessed with extended family and many dear, lifelong friends. Beshie was a highly accomplished golfer, being Women’s Champion at the Salina Country Club 11 times between 1955 and 1975 and competing at the highest levels of state and regional amateur women’s golf. She very much enjoyed travelling across the state helping the Kansas Women’s Golf Association determine slope and rating for golf courses—no green fees charges!
Through her long-life Mary Beth and her group of friends were active in the origin of many community projects and traditions that continue to benefit the city in some form today: the old St. John’s Pediatrics Charity, Salina Charities, the Salina Arts Center, the Salina Beautification Project, just to name a few. She was a member of P.E.O and the First United Methodist Church.
She was a lifelong Jayhawk, of course, and a great tail-gater and basketball fan who seldom missed a home football or basketball game until the drive to Lawrence became too much. She served on the National Board of Directors of the KU Alumni Association from 1967-72 and was proud to have all three of her children become Jayhawks as well (did we have a choice?!).
Beshie was one of those marvelous souls who always saw the best in any person or situation. She was gracious. She taught by example and treated everyone with respect and kindness; in turn, she was treasured by all who knew her. She was so much fun to be with, and her life was filled with a joy that she passed on to all she knew. Beside art, golf, and tennis she loved playing bridge, leading Brownie Scouts, getting out in the country to fish (with a trunk full of fried chicken and potent potables), reading, sewing, working crossword puzzles, making a mean Old Fashioned, and travelling to visit her far-flung kids. But her true passion was being a mother and a grandmother, and she was the best. Her children are the luckiest in the world to have had their Mommy with them for so many years, and her grandchildren simply loved and adored their Nana.
Mary Beth is survived by her children H. Dodge Engleman (Lorna) of San Antonio, TX; Ann Engleman North (Richard) of Bedminster, NJ; Mary Engleman Kemmer (Andy) of Wichita, KS., and by her three grandchildren Dodge A. Kemmer (Kyla Velaer) of San Mateo, CA.,: Callie E. Kemmer (Frank Leach) of Washington, D.C.; and Riley E. Kemmer of Scottsdale, AZ.
Memorial services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, June 21, 2021, at First United Methodist Church, 122 N. 8th St., with Rev. Doug Birdsong officiating.
If you are so moved, memorials may be made to the Howard George Engleman and Mary Beth Dodge Engleman Scholarship Fund at the University of Kansas, KU Endowment, PO Box 928, Lawrence, Kansas 66044, which provides financial aid to incoming freshman students from Saline and/or Cowley counties, the Salina Presbyterian Manor’s Good Samaritan Fund or Employee Christmas Fund, and the First United Methodist Church of Salina. Or, just enjoy an Old Fashioned or favorite beverage in celebration of your unique memories of Beshie, and perform a random act of kindness in honor of her full and rewarding life.