Mary Irene Taussig

Mary Irene Taussig is joyfully praising God before His throne today! Her spirit has now departed for her eternal home. 

Mary, the youngest of four children, was born to Albert and Lettie Marth on October 19, 1923, in Dixon, Illinois. After high school graduation, she attended Wheaton College, where she met the love of her life, Robert (Dr. Bob) Taussig. Dr. Bob and Mary were married on June 24, 1945, in Dixon, Illinois, and moved in 1946 to Sioux City, Iowa, where Dr. Bob established his practice in Veterinary Medicine. Seven children were born to them in the following 12 years. With a divine calling, the family moved to Manhattan, Kansas in 1966, where Dr. Bob taught at Kansas State University in the College of Veterinary Medicine. 

Dr. Bob and Mary were inseparable. While Dr. Bob was the public persona in the activities in which they participated, Mary was actively involved in planning, organizing, and hosting. They moved to Zaria, Nigeria, in 1972 where Dr. Bob was a professor at Ahmadu Bello University for four years. Together they established the Nigerian Christian Navigator ministry. 

After their return to Manhattan, they started the first chapter of HIS (Helping International Students), an organization that has since spread across the U.S. The idea originated from their observation in Nigeria that internationals would come to the U.S and go home again years later, having never been in an American home or heard about Jesus. In connection with HIS, they held a weekly Bible study for international students in their home. 

Mary lived her life with purpose, attention to detail and a diligence for excellence. Her devotion to God, to her husband and to her family has been an inspiration to all who knew her, including her family and hundreds of internationals and friends around the world. Over the years, she faithfully prayed for each one in her extensive family by name every week. She was a skilled hostess, entertaining "the world" with ease. She was the twinkle in Dr. Bob's eyes and a walking billboard for Jesus Christ.

Dr. Bob passed away in 2012 after nearly 67 years of marriage. Mary continued to live in Manhattan in their home. Due to failing eyesight, she moved to the Kansas City area to live with family in 2021 when she was 97. After a fall in 2022, she moved to Westchester Village in KC where she received loving care. 

Mary will be remembered with love by her children: Letitia Thomas (Lindon), Susan Gras (Dave), Paul Taussig (Martha), Tim Taussig (Janice), Mark Taussig (Susan), Elizabeth Zouein (Simon) and Andrew Taussig (Sylvia), 35 grandchildren and 109 great grandchildren.

In honor of Mary Irene Taussig: "Her children rise up and call her blessed.. Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all. Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." Proverbs 31:28-30.

Memorial gifts in Mary's memory may be made to HIS or The Gideons.

A visitation will be held on Saturday, January 18th,2025 between 1:30 and 3:00 p.m. followed by a memorial service at 3:00 p.m. at Grace Baptist Church, 2901 Dickens Ave. in Manhattan, KS. The burial will be on Tuesday, January 21at 2:00 p.m. at the Sunrise Cemetery in Manhattan, Kansas.