In Memory of Professor Emeritus, Mary Kay Fleming, Ph.D.
The Mount community is mourning the passing of a beloved faculty member, who died May 20, 2025, of cancer. Dr. Mary Kay Fleming, Professor of Psychology, touched the lives of her students, faculty and friends with a career marked by commitment to learning, a deep spirituality, and a finely-tuned sense of humor.
After teaching fulltime for 37 years at the Mount, she retired at the end of the 2020 academic year because her family was expecting the first (of eventually three) grandchildren, and because she wanted to focus more on her writing. Having participated in the annual Erma Bombeck Writing Competition in Dayton since 2010, her 2016 entry won in the global humor category. In 2019, she was named first-place winner in the humor writing category by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.
Dusting Off Gratitude: Mary Kay Writes How Old Thank-You Cards Sparked New Memories
In her published article titled, “How Old Thank-You Cards Helped Me Remember When I Made a Difference,” Mary Kay describes how rediscovering a collection of old thank you notes after her 40-year career served as a powerful reminder of the positive impact she made on others. From student notes to her children’s friends, these notes offered a comforting reflection on the profound and meaningful connections she has made.
"Because you lent a sympathetic ear and helped me build confidence, you have become a part of my autobiography,” Mary Kay reads from one of her former students. “You touch more people than you realize."
In essence, she notes that the senders of these thank-you notes revealed a past and a person she’d almost forgotten.
“Now in my seventh decade, more of my life lies behind me than ahead. The questions I face at this stage would have been unimaginable to the young people who wrote those cards. Have I made a difference in the world? Could I pass into eternity tomorrow with no regrets?”
For Mary Kay, these cherished thank-you notes held the answer to this question, serving as a testament to a life of service and inspiration to others.
Visit here to read the full article on Mary Kay’s newfound perspective on her past contributions.
Colleague Tributes from Mount St. Joseph University in Honor of Mary Kay
“One of my heroes is gone. I can't imagine a world where Mary Kay Fleming doesn't exist. She hired me as an adjunct instructor in 1994 and again as a tenure-track professor in 1996. She was a generous, kind, respectful, and caring mentor who quickly came to be a dear colleague and friend. She was one of the first people who helped me to feel comfortable being myself, working at a Catholic school in the 1990's. Her passion for social justice as a developmental psychologist was inspirational and has left a significant impact on my teaching and mentoring. Most of all, her impact in student lives, her deep commitment to family, and her incredible sense of humor bonded us as colleagues and friends. She was a recipient of the Erma Bombeck award for humor writing. She created our award-winning process for assessment of student learning at Mount St. Joseph University with incredible integrity. She retired in 2020 and yet I walk into our suite and look at her office door and miss her presence on our campus every single day.”
-Jim Bodle Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
“Besides being a humorous writer, Mary Kay was published in Catholic magazines, such as America, the Jesuit magazine. She and I shared pieces we were writing for the other’s feedback. She had a keen sense of sentence structure and word choice that I admired. I also admired her as a psychologist, so quoted her insights into two of my stories, one on ageism and one on aging. Of the half dozen features I had published in recent years in St. Anthony Messenger, I never sent them to my editors until I had Mary Kay’s assurance that they were “just right” and reading to submit.”
“I’m so happy that I was able to sit with Mary Kay at [a colleague’s] retirement party a year ago last week. For those who didn’t have the pleasure of knowing her, Mary Kay was kind, funny, sensitive, reliable, thoughtful, and very down-to-earth. Mary Kay led up the development of one of the iterations of our core curriculum. She was also an accomplished humor writer – in fact, a winner of the Erma Bombeck prize in 2016 (for those old enough to remember that legendary writer from Ohio). So, to celebrate Mary Kay’s life and legacy, I’m including a link to an online portfolio of her works – some of which appeared in popular magazines (link included below).
Mary Kay, we will miss you!”
Elizabeth Murray Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Biomedical and Natural Sciences
Mary Kay’s Published Portfolio of Works
From hilarious stories to touching reads, you can visit Mary Kay’s online portfolio of her works – some of which appeared in popular magazines. In honor of Mary Kay, please take a few minutes to read one or more of her stories here.