When Mary Kay DePoe walked into the Head Start program in Cottonwood, her first thought was, “I give it two weeks — tops.” That was 41 years ago.

But now, at the age of 80, she said it’s time to step down as the director of the Sedona program and focus on other interests in life. Her last day of work is set for Thursday, May 23.

“I feel really comfortable and know this is the right decision for me at this point,” she said. “I was always excited to come back to work every year but it’s time for me to move into another phase of my life. I have a lot of opportunities in this town to volunteer and serve the community in other ways. I want to give back to Sedona and I still think I can do that.”

Long before she started working in the Verde Valley, she worked at the Head Start program in Phoenix for a short time until she and her husband, John, and their kids moved to Sedona in 1970.

“This was part of [President] Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society,” she said. “The city of Phoenix implemented Head Start as a summer program. I had three little kids but thought it sounded kind of fun. It was then that I started doing home visits and, honestly, that’s what hooked me on this program. I recognized that this wasn’t just about children but it was about the family. Head Start is a program that just happens to have a preschool.”

The Head Start program, which is located at West Sedona School, falls under the watchful eye and funding of the Northern Arizona Council of Governments. NACOG has 28 centers spread throughout Yavapai, Coconino, Apache and Navajo counties, employing 375 people.

The Sedona program is open to children ages 3 to 5 whose parents qualify based on income or if they are part of any assistance programs. It’s run Monday to Thursday during the school year. In fact, open enrollment for the fall is currently underway. The local Head Start has 51 children under its care and, in recent years, there has not been a waiting list.

“I think Head Start is such an outstanding program,” she said. “Being a center director has allowed me to be creative and manage staff in a good environment. I’ve mentored so many staff members over the years, which has been very rewarding to me. Along with the children, that’s something I’ll miss most.”

Patricia Burke has worked with DePoe for the last six years and said she has the “heart of a child and the generous spirit of a giant.”

“During that time I have watched her suit up and show up every day with an incredible sense of compassion, tenacity and discernment for the Sedona Head Start families and staff at our center,” she said. “Mary Kay’s sense of humor and wheelhouse of amazing stories from both her professional and personal life make any time spent with her a completely memorable experience.”

DePoe took over the Cottonwood program in 1979 and ran it for 10 years before taking the helm in Sedona. But at that time, the program did not exist in Sedona.

DePoe’s daughter, Lauren DePoe, was 10 when her mom took the job with Head Start in Cottonwood. So, there’s barely been a time in her life when Mary Kay wasn’t doing what she’s enjoyed the last four decades.

“She completely loves her job and enjoys all of the benefits Head Start provides the many families involved in the program,” she said. “She loves the kids, the parents, and her staff and co-workers.

She went on to say, “As kids, we only knew that she loved what she was doing for the community, loved her job, and wholeheartedly loved all of the families she became associated with through her work. I believe that she truly found her calling when she went to work for Head Start.”
For more than four decades, DePoe and Patty Falsetto have been friends and colleagues. As the years progressed, Falsetto said she feels their friendship turned more into a mentor/student relationship.

“I was extremely lucky to have this woman as a friend, who encouraged me and challenged me to never give up as I started West Sedona Public Montessori,” she said. “It was an incredible day when she, too, moved the Head Start program to West Sedona School as well. I have enjoyed her as a colleague and she was someone who I could always turn to answer any professional inquiries I might have had.”

Jennifer Brown, director of NACOG’s Head Start program, said retirement marks the start of another chapter in an employee’s life.

“The retirement of a valued employee sparks mixed emotions,” she said. “On the one hand, we are happy and excited about Mary Kay’s next chapter. On the other, we are sad and just a bit melancholy at the prospect of losing our daily time and interaction with her — she is a hoot.”

Brown went on to say that in some ways, this marks the end of an era.

“Mary Kay has touched so many of us that her legacy will live on forever,” she said. “She was on my hiring committee back in 1993 and I am just one of many, many employees she interviewed, groomed and loved throughout the years. She is the reason many of us have stayed all of this time. It is her knowledge, passion and dedication we found so admirable and honestly, achievable.”

Ron Eland can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 122 or by email at reland@larsonnewspapers.com