Douglas MacArthur 1965 graduate Mary Ann DeCrevel listed, in the Cadet yearbook, her activities as Girls Glee Club, Office Assistant, and Office Occupation Club.
Some of us remember her as friendly and always smiling.
After doing researching and finding out the specifics of her death, I wrote an essay here entitled Murder.
I tried to frame it in the context that we should not be surprised that a violent death ended the life of one of our classmates. The details of her death were sad, and certainly not something Mary Ann deserved:
When Mary Ann passed away, the newspaper called her Mrs. Kerry Kuster, 42, of Decatur. She was murdered on Monday, November 13, 1989, in Decatur. At the time, Mary Ann was a secretary for Decatur Blue Print Company. She had been married to Kerry Kuster since 1965. The Kusters had two sons and a daughter. Mary Ann had a sister, and two grandchildren, when she died. Her father passed away before her, in 1987.The trial was the media fodder of the day, even involving stories about the children who had played in the car being brought forth to testify.
The details of Mary Ann's death are not pretty. She allegedly had broken up with her husband and was dating another man. She had gone to the man's grandfather's house to meet this new guy. Reportedly, there the grandfather [Ronald Glas] stabbed the sweet classmate we knew as Mary Ann DeCrevel multiple times. When dead, she was then put into the trunk of her own car. Later, she would be discovered a few blocks from the house of her mother.
Decatur, Illinois, Herald & Review, April 24, 1990, page one.
Decatur, Illinois, Herald & Review, April 24, 1990.
Decatur, Illinois, Herald & Review, September 17, 1991.
Mary Ann was buried in the North Fork Cemetery, Long Creek, Macon County, Illinois.
Legacies continue. Memories live on.
Last night, Mary Ann's granddaughter wrote, sharing the following with this blog. It was sent as a comment to my earlier May 1, 2010 entry, but I have decided to elevate it to a new posting:
Mary Ann was my grandmother. My mother was pregnant with me when she passed so I unfortunately never got to meet her. Her husband Kerry passed away yesterday [February 20, 2016] and as I am sure you can imagine, a lot of people were speaking of Mary Ann this weekend. It is so nice to hear happy things about her, as she was not spoken of much when I was growing up as my family continues to grieve for her. Thank you for your kind words and memories of her. ~ Emily Ann Kuster
May Kerry and Mary Ann rest in peace. Our condolences to the family and friends of both.
