Mary Louise Conrad was born March 18, 1920 in Greencastle, Indiana — the first daughter of Leo Conrad and Lois Eshelman.

She passed away peacefully in Simi Valley, California on March 26, 2017, 6 days following her 97th birthday.

In between it was a life for the ages.

When she was six years old, her parents had their second daughter, Dorothy Ann Conrad, born March 23, 1926 — five days after Mary Lou’s sixth birthday. She said her mother handed her brand new sister to her with the words, “This is your birthday present.” Six-year-old Mary Louise looked at the tiny thing in her hands and thought, “What kind of birthday gift is this?”

The two sisters would go on to be lifelong confidantes and the best of friends.

She went to college at DePauw University in her hometown Greencastle and was a proud member of Alpha Chi Omega and remained so throughout her life.

She met John Duncan Kemp while both attended DePauw. Upon graduation, they married in 1942, while he was in the Army during World War II.

As the young newlyweds set out on their lives together, they moved to Puerto Rico, where John was stationed. In 1945, with the war ending, they had their first child, James Conrad Kemp. Jim passed away in 2012.

The Kemps moved to Texas — first Galveston and then Houston in the late 1940s. They spent the decade of the 1950s in Texas, where they welcomed a second son, Thomas Edward Kemp, and then their third son, Stephen John.

Mary Louise Kemp was a very outgoing, social and welcoming person. While in Houston and everywhere else she ever lived, she went out of her way to be the ultimate gracious hostess, and she was.

Also during her years in Texas, she joined an organization of women helping women called P.E.O. She remained an extremely engaged member for the rest of her life, and in 2016 was honored for 60 years of service.

At the onset of the 1960s, the family moved to Fullerton, California. While there, Mary Lou joined a non-profit charity called The Assistance League that indeed provides assistance and stages benefits for the needy.

In the mid 1960s, the family relocated to Los Angeles and then settled in Santa Barbara in 1968. By this time, her oldest son Jim was serving in Vietnam. It was of course a particularly stressful time for Jim and his mom, but she was ecstatic and relieved when her beloved son returned home.

Mary Lou and John lived in Santa Barbara for the next two decades and became vibrant members of the community. For this time and the years beyond that, they were quite possibly the best years of their lives.

In Santa Barbara, Mary Lou was now a vibrant and vital member of The Assistance League of Santa Barbara. She tirelessly and proudly served as its President in 1981-82.

Mary Lou was always active and loved doing things were her hands. Among so many attributes, she was an especially splendid cook as well as a very giving friend. For the holidays she would make the most exquisite gift baskets for both friends and family, filled with her own incredibly delicious homemade olallieberry jam and apple butter. She and John would travel to Lompoc to pick the olallieberries.

She also loved to do needlepoint, knitting and crochet: she made a large array of elaborate needlepoint pillows that were works of art, and even restored antique chairs with splendid needlepoint designs.

During the 1970s Mary Lou began to develop arthritis and her eyesight began to fail, due to glaucoma. Over the years, this condition developed into macular degeneration, first in one eye and then the other, until for a good portion of her final years, she was virtually blind. Even blind and with arthritis, she still stayed busy; and though needlepoint was now out of the question, in her final years she would knit amazing blankets and scarves for each of her granddaughters.

In the 1990s, she and John retired to Sun City West, Arizona. John passed away in 2005, and Mary Lou moved back to California to be closer to her family.

During those 12 years, life became more challenging with every day. Until the very end, Mary Louise Kemp handled it all with the utmost grace, dignity, elegance, good humor and her uniquely warm, ingratiating style.

Mary Louise Kemp will always be a most beautiful soul — an extraordinary woman who would light up every room she ever entered. She will be eternally honored, celebrated, loved and missed by all who had the privilege to know her.