Mary Jo Callahan

Service Details

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Peter’s Catholic Church (2224 30^th Ave. in Kenosha) on Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 11:00 am with Fr. Ireneusz Chodakowski, MIC officiating. Interment will take place in West Lawn Memorial Park. Visitation will be at the church prior to Mass on Wednesday from 10-11 am.

Memorial Suggestions

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to St. Peter’s Church in her name.

Somers – Mary Jo (Burkhard) Callahan, age 101, died on December 5, 2020.

Mary Jo was born March 24, 1919 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania to William George and Margaret (Stackhouse) Burkhard. Mary Jo married Robert J. “Bob” Callahan on October 3, 1941. They were happily married for 65 years.  She is with him now.

Born and raised in Johnstown, Mary Jo was a member of St. Columba Catholic Church, attended St. Columba Elementary School and Johnstown Catholic High School. She was a graduate of Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania, with a Bachelor of Science degrees in Home Economics and Science. Mary Jo did graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Wisconsin.

Early teaching jobs had Mary Jo at Carrolltown High School and the greater Johnstown School System. After moving to Wisconsin she taught in the Kenosha Catholic School System for 14 years. She touched young lives at St. George’s, St. Benedict’s, St. Peter’s, St. Mark’s, and St. Mary’s Elementary Schools.

Along with her husband, Bob, and her son, Dan, Mary Jo was the office “boss” at the family business, B&D Equipment and Repair in Sturtevant from 1980 until 1999.

Mary Jo enjoyed spending time with family and friends, her beautiful flowering gardens, and reading. You could rarely catch her without a book in her hand. She is a member of St. Peter’s Catholic Church and a faithful attendee at all of the parish festivals.

She was preceded in death by her parents, William and Margaret Burkhard, her infant sister Kathryn, step-grandson Matthew Szudajski and her beloved husband, Bob.

Mary Jo is survived by her brother, John W. Burkhard of Ligonier, Pennsylvania; her four children; Dr. Robert J. (Toni) of Johnstown, Pennsylvania; Margaret (Steve) Severson, of Cove, Arkansas; William, (Jill) of Fair Hope, Alabama; and Daniel (Mary) of Kenosha, Wisconsin. Mary Jo’s grandchildren are: Michelle (Wally) Powers; Robert (Lisa) Callahan III; Joseph (Amy) Betz; Kathleen (Blake) Patterson; David (Amy) Betz; Matthew (Meg) Callahan, Nichole (Tim) Weinacht, and Margie Callahan. She has 12 great-grandchildren.

Mary Jo has been blessed by compassionate and faithful friends. Special thanks to the caregivers from People Care, St. Monica’s Senior Living and Hospice Alliance, and the physicians and staff at Ascension who have taken care of her over the years.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Peter’s Catholic Church (2224 30^th Ave. in Kenosha) on Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 11:00 am with Fr. Ireneusz Chodakowski, MIC officiating. Interment will take place in West Lawn Memorial Park. Visitation will be at the church prior to Mass on Wednesday from 10-11 am.  In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to St. Peter’s Church in her name.