Mary Kline McGehee Daniels

MARY KLINE MCGEHEE DANIELS Mary Kline McGehee Daniels, age 93, passed away on August 19, 2025, at Sarabella Senior Living in Sarasota, Florida. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 2, 1932, she was the daughter of Mary Kline Shipp and Dr. Henry Martin McGehee. When Mary was a young child, her family moved to Miami where she graduated from Miami Senior High School. She went on to graduate cum laude from the University of Florida in 1954, where she was a member of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and the Chi Omega Sorority, and a member of one of the earliest graduating classes after women gained full admission to the University of Florida. Although she planned to use her English degree to be a teacher like her mother, she married Walter C. Daniels in the University’s Wesley Foundation Chapel the day after her college graduation in 1954 and went on to travel the world as the wife of a career military officer. Mary was preceded in death by her husband, Col. Walter (Walt) C. Daniels, U.S. Army (Ret.), whom she met at the University of Florida when he offered her extra basketball tickets. She assumed it was a date—though that had not been his intention—and their story began. Walt and Mary raised three sons and celebrated their 67th anniversary before Walt’s death in 2021. Military life meant frequent moves (twenty-nine in total), three years where her husband served on unaccompanied tours (two in Vietnam), along with overseas assignments in France, Germany, and Korea. While difficult at times, these years were among her happiest. Mary took full advantage of the many opportunities to learn about the local culture and people wherever she and Walt were stationed. Whether living in the servants’ quarters of a chateau and using her French to shop in the local market, or spending a day with a Korean Shaman as they exorcised the demon dragons from the Han River in Seoul, she was always up for an adventure. Several pieces of art that hung in her home were a reminder of Mary’s travel with her mother to Paris in 1961. Visits from her mother while Mary lived in Europe also included trips for the two of them to London and Rome. Mary’s eldest son, Lee, recalls traveling with his parents as a young child to the Netherlands, Denmark, and the Normandy beaches and cemetery. Following her son John’s high school graduation in Korea, Mary and John traveled extensively throughout Southeast Asia, and when returning stateside from Korea, Mary and her son Robert enjoyed a week exploring Hawaii. Wherever they lived, Mary found ways to be active in her community and church. She was the consummate hostess and made friendships that lasted a lifetime. While raising three young boys, she served as a classroom mother and Cub Scout den mother, and spent countless hours driving them to piano lessons, Boy Scout meetings, swim meets and other sports practices and games. She also found time to hold several jobs throughout the years, including as a proofreader of technical manuals for IBM and teaching conversational English to Korean businessmen. As her sons grew older, she delighted in hosting their college friends during vacations and spring breaks. After Walt and Mary retired to St. Augustine in 1991, she joined the Woman’s Exchange, serving as President from 2002 to 2004. She was also a member of the Maria Jefferson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), the American Association of University Women (AAUW), and the Piecemakers Quilt Guild. Mary was an active member of Memorial Presbyterian Church in St. Augustine, where she was recognized with the Presbyterian Women Honorary Life Achievement Award in 2020. Devoted University of Florida Gators fans, Mary and Walt held season tickets for football home games and loved traveling with friends by bus from St. Augustine to Gainesville. After moving to Sarabella in Sarasota in 2022 at age 90, she served on the Residents Council and as an Ambassador for new residents. Mary is survived by three sons Walter Lee (Jody) of Blacksburg, VA; John M. (JB Miller) of Sarasota, FL; and Robert W. (Susan) of Palm Coast, FL; three grandsons Graham (Jaclyn) of Floyd, VA; Cameron of Blacksburg, VA; and Christopher (Meredith) of Keller, TX; and two great-grandchildren Florence of Keller, TX, and Emerson of Floyd, VA. A memorial service will be held at on October 2 at 2 p.m. at Memorial Presbyterian Church, St. Augustine, Florida. Interment will follow at Sarasota National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Mary’s memory may be made to: Eastern Mennonite University c/o The Mary and Walter Daniels Endowed Scholarship Fund 1200 Park Road Harrisonburg, VA 22802

Mary Kline McGehee Daniels

April 2, 1932 - August 19, 2025