Mary Jane Summers

Mary Jane Summers, 92, of Indianapolis, passed away November 21, 2009. She was born December 28, 1916 in Anderson, Indiana. After her mother, Ethel Kate May Ping Shafer and her father, John Carl Shafer passed away, she and her brother John moved to Indianapolis in 1925 to live with their aunt and uncle, Ann and Earl Shafer. Mary Jane graduated from Shortridge High School in 1934 and from Butler University in 1938 where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority. She married Lynn Nicholas Summers in 1940. During World War II, while Nick earned his wings as a bomber pilot, Mary Jane drove a staff car and performed other duties at a string of training bases. After Nick?s release from a Romanian POW camp and the war?s end, the couple returned to Indianapolis and began raising a family. Mary Jane performed extensive volunteer work for the Indianapolis Day Nursery, of which she was a 50 year member and past president, the Indianapolis Museum of Art?s Museum Shop and the Kappa Alpha Theta chapter at Butler, which named her Theta of the year in 1994. She was also a 50 year member of the Caroline Scott Harrison Chapter of the DAR. Mary Jane will be remembered for her indomit...[more]

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e spirit, her love of socializing with her many friends in a variety of bridge, poker, and ?sewing? clubs, and her charitable giving, especially to the Ovid Butler Society of Butler University, the Children?s Museum and the Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation. Her husband, Nick and her brother, John Carlton Shafer both preceded her in death. Survivors include her son, Lynn Summers and his wife, Brenda of Raleigh, North Carolina and daughter, Cynthia England and her husband, Jim of Indianapolis; four grandchildren, Brooke (Joseph) Fuller, Nicole (Noah) Robbins, Ben Higgs and Cary England; two step grandchildren, Katie and Matt England and four great grandchildren, Madison and Kailey Fuller and Tusker and Maxwell Robbins. Family and friends will gather from 12:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at the Leppert Mortuary, Nora Chapel 740 E. 86th Street, Indianapolis. Funeral services will be private. You are invited to visit www.leppertmortuary.com where you may sign the online guestbook, leave a personal message for the family or order flowers.