Mary Ann Kucera

January 13, 2021

Mary Ann Kucera '58

A Coe education: a family affair

Every Kohawk has cherished memories of Coe College. Ringing the Victory Bell to celebrate the start of their adventure, laughing fits with friends on Flunk Day and plates stacked high with pancakes at Late-Night Breakfast are now mental keepsakes of a place that feels like home. For Mary Ann Turnbull Kucera ’58 memories of Coe are interwoven into every aspect of her life.

“Coe is my home. My aunt Roby (Eliza Hickok Kesler ’31) always said she was born under a bush on campus,” Mary Ann laughs.

Four generations of family roots at Coe date to 1905 when Mary Ann’s grandfather, Charles Thomas Hickok, became a political science professor. Her grandfather and aunt raised her in the Coe community after Mary Ann’s mother, Mary Louise Hickok ’26, passed away when she was an infant.

“Growing up, I went to every commencement and messiah. I always looked forward to doing the messiah for Christmas in the old Sinclair Chapel. It was a wonderful tradition and was just beautiful. I remember my grandfather’s office. He would pitch a tent in the town square during the summers to work on recruiting students to Coe. He would talk to the families, and I found it amazing to meet so many people,” she says.

The Hickoks are a Coe icon. Mary Ann’s grandfather taught at Coe for 40 years and served as chair of the Political Science Department during War World II while the majority of men on campus were overseas. Roby founded Thursday Forum to expand the community’s access to quality educational programming and honor Coe faculty’s academic excellence. The Hickok family’s lifetime service to the college continues to be prevalent for students today with scholarship funds. It was this love and appreciation for Coe that wouldn’t allow Mary Ann to imagine being anywhere else for her college education.

“My mom filled out a Coe application for me when she found out she was pregnant. She wrote an admission date of 1954 and a graduation date of 1958,” she says.

Mary Ann’s family lineage of educators and trailblazing women influenced the community outside of the college as well. Her own education and experience at Coe has fueled a lifelong passion for empowering students and women.

“I always wanted to be a teacher. I can’t believe all the opportunities available for women now majoring in chemistry. They can move on to go to graduate school and even work in medicine. Before, the only option was to be a teacher,” she says.

But Mary Ann wanted to use her degrees in history and chemistry to follow in her mother’s footsteps. She became the first full-time chemistry major student-teacher at Washington High School, while pregnant and graduating magna cum laude. She met her future husband, the late Howard Kucera ’58, in religion class at Coe in the building with her family’s namesake, Hickok Hall. They married on September 7, 1957. Mary Ann was a Tri Delta just like her mother and aunt, with her own daughter, Beth Kucera ’81, and granddaughters, Alex Fangman ’14 and Maddy Fangman Taylor ’15, following suit.

“I became the president of the Cedar Rapids School Board during the 1980s farm crisis,” she says. Mary Ann volunteered in the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library, Brucemore National Trust, Children’s Theatre, League of Women Voters and Junior League of Cedar Rapids.

Mary Ann only has missed one Thursday Forum in 1989 when she was recovering from a car accident. Her lifelong support of Coe, attending every opening convocation to welcome new students and supporting scholarship programs, led to the Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award in 2013.

“Alumni support is critical for the well-being of the college. I promote Coe everywhere I go for what it provided my family and myself. Coe’s given a wonderful education for so many people. I want these opportunities to be available for future students,” she says.

Because of this, Mary Ann continues to support her family legacy through the Hickok International May Term Travel Fund and the Howard Kucera Physics Scholarship, which was established after Howard’s passing in October. Mary Ann even donated her husband’s master thesis for students interested in graduate school to learn from.

“It’s a great way to show we appreciate the education we received at Coe and the opportunities that were presented to us. I’m proud that so many alumni continue to give back to Coe — to volunteer or serve on the Board of Trustees or Alumni Council,” she adds.

While events like the May Pole Dance to celebrate the beginning of spring are no longer a part of the Coe experience for Kohawks, one thing continues to stand the test of time.

“The personal connections made at Coe are meaningful and continue throughout the years,” Mary Ann says.