Mary Kathryn (Hueni) Cantrell

Mary Kathryn (Hueni) Cantrell, a long-time resident of Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, died Monday the 7th of August in her hometown of Lansing, Michigan.

Born in 1932 in Lansing, Michigan, Mary graduated from Sexton High School and received a Bachelor of Science from the Michigan State University. After college, she was a flight attendant and lived in both Seattle and New York City.  She later continued her education at the University of Virginia, from which she received her Masters in Education.

Mary was a teacher in DC public schools and taught adults with special needs at the Kennedy Institute in the District of Columbia for several years.

Mary married Robert Carl Cantrell in Washington, DC.  They met when she was a flight attendant and he was an U.S. Air Force Officer.  Robert had several positions in the U.S. Government and on Capitol Hill, and they raised their three children.  Later, the family moved to Buena Vista, VA, where they lived and raised their children on the Southern Seminary College campus.  Mary served on the local school board of the Buena Vista City Schools System and was a strong advocate of both formal and self education.

Mary was a voracious reader, loved antique shopping and traveling. She had a wonderful sense of humor, was unique in many ways, and enjoyed both spending time with family and friends, as well as quiet time in nature.  She was an adventurer with boundless energy and ambition.  She skied the Swiss Alps, studied at Oxford University in England for the summer, explored caves in Mexico, and studied Italian in Venice, Italy. When she wasn’t traveling, raising children and enjoying grandchildren, Mary enjoyed reading biographies, the Washington Post, and New York Times. Most summers she traveled to Stony Lake, Michigan to spend the summer in nature at her family’s cottage.

Mary is survived by her children: Fitzhugh (and Katrina) Cantrell of Norfolk, Virginia; Charlotte (and Jim) Cantrell-Doran of Charlottesville, Virginia; Robert (and Anne) Cantrell of New York, New York. She is also survived by five grandchildren including Charlie and Sam Cantrell of Norfolk, VA; Alexander and Andrew Doran of Charlottesville, Virginia; and Coco Cantrell of New York, New York.

The family would like to thank all of the caregivers at Independence Village in Grand Ledge for their amazing care and support over the past several years.  In lieu of flowers, donations are being accepted to the DC Kennedy Institute.  The below website lists the details of how memorial gift be made either online or by US mail.   Memorial & Honorary Gifts – Catholic Charities DC .  If interested in an online gift, they can do it using this link Online Gift.