Mary Jane Kearns Dunlap

Mary Jane Kearns Dunlap, 94, of Pittsburgh, PA died peacefully on March 12, 2023.  Daughter of the late Florence Sullivan Kearns and sister of the late Mike Kearns. Wife of the late John J. McCarthy and the late Richard J. Dunlap. Mother of Paul McCarthy, Connie McCarthy, Claudia McCarthy (Ian Conway), Brian McCarthy (Jennifer), Matthew McCarthy and Deirdre Dunlap O’Day. Grandmother of Asa and Luke Conway; Julia, Bridget and John McCarthy; Molly O’Day and Robert Jauregui. Also survived by cousins and nieces and nephews. Mary Jane was born in Pittsburgh in 1928 and grew up during The Great Depression, a reality that informed her thinking for most of her life. In spite of the hardship of her early years, she was a model of resilience and generosity and possessed a gift for making life-long friends as well as new friends along the way. She attended high school at St. Benedict’s Academy, graduated from Mt. Mercy College (now Carlow University) and earned a Master of Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh. She had a long career as a psychiatric social worker and was the founder of the Department of Social Work at Overlake Hospital in Bellevue, WA. Mary Jane had a great love of the arts, particularly literature, theater, the visual arts and music. Those who knew her over the course of her 94 years speak of her with respect and affection. Her family and friends remember her with love.

A funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, April 29 at 10am at St. Mary of the Mount Church - Mary Queen of Peace Parish at 403 Grandview Ave. in Mt. Washington. Interment will be private. If desired, donations can be offered to a scholarship fund created by Mary Jane to assist students in financial need. Donations can be made out to Carlow University with a note on the check or included that it is a donation to the Mary Jane Kearns 1950 Scholarship in memory of Sr. John Francis, Carlow University Office of Advancement 3333 Fifth Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Donations can also be made to giving.carlow.edu where there is an option to add a comment and include the name of the scholarship.