Agros Blog

The following has been written by Susan Moulton, Agros Board Chair:

It is with great sadness that I am sharing with you the news of the death on April 20, 2010 of our beloved friend, Agros board member, and comrade in the fight to end rural poverty.

This beautiful message was posted on Mary Kay’s Carebridge site the morning of her passing:

“As the birds began a morning chorus, Mary Kay Burdick gracefully passed into the arms of God. She was never uncomfortable or in pain. The events of these final days have been exactly as MK wished. We have been able to grieve and laugh in nearly equal parts.”

Our hearts are also heavy and joyful in equal parts. Mary Kay contributed so much to the world she left behind: her CAN DO attitude and actions in serving the poor have been inspirational and have set into motion generational changes in the lives of so many. I am sad that so many of the families she served with all her heart will now never have the chance to encounter Mary Kay and the shinning light that burned in her so fiercely and brightly.

That light did not come without challenging many to ask questions that needed asking; it did not come without standing up for what was just and right no matter how uncomfortable it could be. As a close friend said, “Heaven needs to get ready, because when MK gets there she is sure to have lots of questions!”

Mary Kay raised her family the same way–by charting a deeply meaningful path, with love and engagement in all of life as a wife and mother. This path of love and engagement in the fullness of life will continue to be lived out by Mary Kay’s remarkable husband Don and wonderful children Morgan and Grady.

We miss MK fiercely, even as we celebrate the impact and legacy she has left in all of our lives.

Additionally, the following obituary was published in the Seattle Times:

Mary Kathryn ‘Mary Kay’ (Delay) Burdick, 51, Seattle community activist and former financial executive, passed peacefully into the arms of God on April 20, 2010. Her death followed a courageous three-year battle with cancer.

Born in Spokane on February 2, 1959, Mary Kay was the oldest of three children of Helen and John Delay. She graduated from Idaho’s Priest River High School, and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Idaho.

In 1981, she moved to Seattle and joined the accounting firm Price Waterhouse. She and Don Burdick were married in Seattle in 1983. Later, Mary Kay worked for Sullivan Payne Company as Chief Financial Officer, and for Costco Wholesale Korea as a buyer.

Charitable causes were central to Mary Kay’s life. She was particularly passionate about health care, serving as a community ambassador for the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH).

She also cared deeply about the impoverished, acting as a director for Agros, an organization dedicated to helping the rural poor in Central America and Mexico.

In addition, Mary Kay was a director of the Eastside Housing Alliance.

Mary Kay was often engaged in many other causes and was a frequent volunteer. Many people knew Mary Kay as a skilled financial officer, and still others knew her as a passionate gardener, Scout leader, active learner, go-to person, tireless advocate for the poor, or simply special friend.

Her husband Don knew her as best friend and faithful companion. To daughter Morgan and son Grady, she was an actively engaged mom who taught by example to love travel, seek adventure, be curious, treasure learning, explore boundaries, and make thoughtful choices.

Mary Kay’s faith was an integral part of her life, particularly after being diagnosed with metastatic cancer. She studied actively and shared her religious principles with her children. Her deeply held beliefs served as the foundation that allowed her to counsel and comfort not only fellow cancer patients but also others who are suffering.

Although disease was part of Mary Kay’s life for several years, it did not define or consume her. She became an optimist, a proactive student of cancer care, and made her own informed decisions about medical treatment.

In addition to her active engagement with PATH and Agros, she continued to travel widely, including trips to South Africa, Cambodia, Thailand, Nicaragua and much of the European Union.

While receiving enhanced cancer treatment in Germany, she kept a blog and interspersed her treatment updates with tales of her travels in Europe, revealing her great sense of adventure, optimism and curiosity.

Mary Kay is survived by her husband Don, daughter Morgan, and son Grady, all of Mercer Island; sister Cindy, and brother John (Angela), both of Spokane; and parents, John and Helen Delay of Priest River, Idaho.

A mass of celebration will be held May 10 at 3:00 p.m. at Saint Monica Catholic Church, Mercer Island.

Please direct remembrances to PATH.org and Agros.org.