Megan Mahoney

Megan O’Reilly Hayes Mahoney passed away on Sunday, January 15, 2023 after living for 3 years with unclassified sarcoma. She is survived by her beloved husband and best friend, Tom; their three beautiful children, Bridget, Jack, and Liam; and her dear father, Larry (Roberta) Hayes. Megan was preceded in death by her mother, Velma (Bohnsack) Hayes, uncle Carl Bohnsack, and grandparents Ina and Kenneth Bohnsack and Martin and Alice Hayes.

Megan grew up in St Patrick's Catholic Church in Elmwood, Illinois. She graduated from the University of Chicago in 2005 with a BA in English and from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2009 with a master's degree in Library and Information Science. She was working at Grainger Engineering Library when she met Tom. They married a year later, in 2012, at St Matthew's Catholic Church in Champaign and welcomed Bridget in 2013. Megan and Tom moved to Emporia in 2015 when Tom accepted a position as mathematics professor at Emporia State University. Soon after, Megan began working as assistant professor and librarian at the William Allen White Library at ESU. They welcomed their sons over the following three years. Megan and Tom were active members of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Parish in Emporia, assisting with marriage preparation and teaching natural family planning, and at the Didde Catholic Campus Center at ESU. Megan was awarded tenure at ESU and promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in 2022. Megan and Tom are blessed with many friends and were well supported during Megan's illness. Megan's funeral mass will be held at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Emporia, Kansas, at 10:00 AM on Friday, January 20, 2023. The Rosary will be recited at the church on Thursday evening at 6:30 PM. Graveside services will take place at Resurrection Cemetery in St. Louis, MO Saturday morning, January 21 at 11:00 AM. Memorials may be sent to Sacred Heart School, Didde Catholic Campus Center, the Family Life Services Center at Shiloh Home for Hope, or the Ronald McDonald House of Northeast Kansas. Contributions may be sent in care of Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home, PO Box #175, Emporia, Kansas 66801, which is in charge of arrangements.

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