Mary Gertrude Kerchner, 94, a long-time resident of Severna Park, passed away peacefully on March 2, 2018, at Sunrise of Severna Park.

She was born on March 20, 1923, the second of eight children, to Philip T. Rossbach and Marcella Louise (Wehage) Rossbach in Baltimore, MD, where she was raised and grew up.

After high school she attended secretarial school and worked at Western Union and later at McCormick & Company.  She met her future husband, John A. Kerchner, at a McCormick's picnic while he was a chemistry student on the G.I. Bill at Loyola College. After their marriage in 1948, Mary and John lived in the Baltimore area and then moved to Severna Park in 1960 where they raised their seven children on the beautiful Magothy River.

Mary worked at Hutzlers in Pasadena, took courses at Anne Arundel Community College, was a member of the Cape Arthur Improvement Association, the Severna Park Newcomers Club, and St. John's Catholic Church.  She also volunteered at Anne Arundel General Hospital in Annapolis.

She loved her husband, John, their seven children and extended family above all. She enjoyed reading, playing bridge, painting, knitting, watching Orioles baseball, riding her bicycle, traveling, including many trips to Maine, watching birds at her feeders and waterfowl in the cove behind her home in Cape Arthur, and boat trips on the Magothy River, especially when the outing included a stop at Dobbins Island. Mary also looked forward to the annual Cape Arthur Fourth of July events, where her skill in the rolling pin toss never ceased to amaze her children!

She was preceded in death by her husband, John and a sister, Eleanor Getz and three brothers, Phillip Rossbach, Louis Rossbach, and Ronald Rossbach, and is survived by three sisters Marcella Louise Williams and husband Francis Williams, Rita Winstead, Rosella Burkholder and husband Terry Burkholder and many nephews and nieces.

She is also survived by her children: Steve Kerchner of Beaufort, SC and his partner, Gale Touger; Kathy Stinefelt of Emmitsburg, and her husband, Howard; Chris Kerchner of Arnold and his wife Janet; Theresa Kerchner of Wayne, Maine and her husband, Jim Perkins; Phil Kerchner of Wye Mills, and his wife Debbie; George Kerchner of Arnold, and his wife Maggie; Eva Kerchner of Stevensville; and thirteen grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren whom she loved dearly.

The family would like to thank the staff at Sunrise in Severna Park, Hospice of the Chesapeake, and Fairfield Rehabilitation Center for their loving care over the past three months.

Memorial donations may be sent to: Our Daily Bread, Baltimore https://www.catholiccharities-md.org/services/our-daily-bread-employment-center/ or Hospice of the Chesapeake https://www.hospicechesapeake.org/giving/

A Memorial Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, March 8 at 10:30 a.m. in the St John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, 689 Ritchie Highway, Severna Park, MD 21146.