Hempel, Mary J.

HEMPEL

Posted By: John Schulte (email)
Date: 10/7/2005 at 13:27:22

Clinton Herald

Mary J. Hempel

NEWARK, Delaware - There will be a requiem Mass at 10 a.m., Wednesday at St. Mary of the Assumption Church, 7200 Lancaster Pike, Hockessin. A memorial service on the university campus is also being planned. The Chandler Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

She was born Dec. 16, 1946, in Clinton to John E. and Maxine M. Hempel.

She graduated from the Mount St. Clare Academy. She received an associate's degree from Mount St. Clare Junior College and earned a bachelor's and master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri at Columbia. In graduate school, she participated in the Washington, D.C., Graduate Reporting Program serving as a Washington correspondent for several newspapers.

She joined the University of Delaware staff in 1971 as an associate news editor, becoming news editor in 1972. She was appointed director of the Office of Information Services in 1979. In 1997, she was named assistant to the president and director of the Office of Public Relations.

She was a member of many university committees and was an adviser to many on the campus. In 2002, she received the Downtown Newark Partnership's first Outstanding Volunteer Award for an individual from the university. She also was an active volunteer with Delaware Hospice and the local chapter of the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, among other charities.

Survivors include one brother, John E. (Margaret) Hempel Jr. of Tucson, Ariz.; sisters, Barbara A. Hempel of Newark, Mrs. Diane L. (Joseph) McGrellis of Hockessin, Delaware, and Mrs. Margaret A. (Douglas) Hornberger of North East, Md.; four nephews and four nieces; two great-nephews and one great-niece.

Death Date: Sept. 30, 2005