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May 30, 1920 (Keota, Oklahoma) - February 1, 1988 (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
Buried: Prague Cemetery; Prague, Oklahoma
Cause of death: lung cancer
Old wives' tale: If a pregnant woman sees the blood of an animal, her child
will be marked with that blood. When her mother was pregnant with her, a dog
got in the chicken coup -- she took a hoe to "shoo" it out but killed it
instead. So, Mary Jane was born with a red mark from her scalp to the tip of
her nose. This became known as "mother's red button." Everyone knew --
don't push her red button!
She entered the United States Navy as a WAVE (Women Accepted for Volunteer
Emergency Service) during World War II. She was based at the Navy Yard in
Philadelphia where she met and married Robert Vincent Reilly, a United States
Marine pilot. Major Reilly was killed on December 9, 1946 when his plane,
carrying 30 Marine recruits, crashed into the South Tahoma Glacier, Mt.
Ranier, Washington. Mary Jane moved to Okemah in October 1947 with Bob, Mary
Margaret, and her mother. She married James Patterson Parks on November 5,
1950.
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