MaryAnn Kerl, 80, of McAlester, Oklahoma, departed this life on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. A funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 12, 2025, at Chaney Harkins Funeral Home Chapel, with Dr. D. Scott Vandenheuvel officiating. Interment will follow at Oak Hill Cemetery, Masonic Section, in McAlester. MaryAnn was born on December 12, 1944, in Mobridge, South Dakota, to Carl A. Heimbuch and Lula (High) Heimbuch. She attended Herreid High School in South Dakota and later married the love of her life, James Robert Kerl, on June 7, 1967, in Pollock, South Dakota. MaryAnn earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from South Dakota State University. After graduation, she began her career as a freelance writer for magazines, then worked for nearly twenty years as a newspaper correspondent, first for the Tulsa World and later for The Daily Oklahoman, the two largest daily newspapers in the state. She deeply loved her work as a journalist and continued to follow her passion through writing books later in life. She especially enjoyed working on two or three books at the same time. MaryAnn also pursued advanced education, earning a Master of Education degree from East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma, in 2002. She went on to receive her Doctor of Education with a specialization in E-Learning from Northcentral University online in 2018. MaryAnn went on to share her love of language as an English teacher at both the high school and college levels, as well as in vocational education. A prolific and passionate writer, MaryAnn authored 16 published books and numerous others. Her writing career included over 1,000 magazine articles and more than 5,000 newspaper pieces. She was a longtime member of the Oklahoma Writers’ Federation and was an active and devoted member of the McAlester McSherry Writer's Guild for 50 years, where she mentored and inspired countless fellow writers. She loved to write and cherished time spent with her friends, often finding joy in their company and shared creativity. MaryAnn was also a dedicated member of the First Presbyterian Church of McAlester since 1974. She is survived by her sons, James Scott Kerl and Jeff Lawrence Kerl and wife, Karen; grandchildren, Stephen, Katherine, and Emma; brothers, Ken and Larry Heimbuch; nieces and nephew, Michelle, Lisa, and David; and her God-daughter, Colleen O’Brien and other family and friends MaryAnn was preceded in death by her beloved husband, James Robert Kerl, and her parents, Carl and Lula Heimbuch.

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