Mary Conn is the 2017 Inter-State Fair Senior Spelling Bee champion.
The Cherryvale, Kan. woman won the bee by spelling the word “audacious” after the runner-up, Marthena Draper, misspelled the word “precedence.”
For Conn, a former English teacher, spelling comes easily. She’s won Inter-State Fair Spelling Bee champion multiple times, and finds words “fascinating.”
Conn follows in the footsteps of her mother, whose career path she didn’t originally want to take. “My mother was the best English teacher,” Conn said. “She was such an outstanding, incredible teacher. She knew literature so she could make it come alive.” Her mother was her high school English teacher, growing up in Deep Water, Mo., but in college, Conn chose to study business.
As a youngster, she tagged along with her mother as she attended spelling bees and speech contests, activities that Conn grew to enjoy.
Conn taught high school business classes, but switched over to English when computers and technology came along.
The 82-year-old has a bit of a competitive streak in her, as well. “I am kind of a competitive spirit,” she said. Seeing the youth showing livestock as she drove into the fairgrounds fanned the flame. “When I drove up and saw all the trailers, I thought, ‘it’s OK to be competitive. It’s part of how you accept life.’”
In her spare time, Conn likes to decorate her home, work in her garden, and read. She enjoys growing hydrangeas, azaleas and roses and loves reading biographies.
She loved her life as a teacher. “I used to almost run into the school because I loved it that much. I was so blessed to have that opportunity, that my work was fun for me. I enjoyed the kids and the learning setting. The place was always a place of excitement for me.”
She and her husband, Robert, a retired school superintendent, moved to Cherryvale about twenty years ago.
Runner up for this year’s spelling bee was Marthena Draper, Caney. Third place went to Michael Smith, Coffeyville; fourth place to Dianna Just, Vinita, Okla., and fifth place to Mary Ann Byrne, Coffeyville.
First place won $100; second place won $50 and third place won $25. Windsor Place was sponsor of the senior spelling bee and the senior talent show.
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Cutline: Winners from the 2017 Senior Spelling Bee pose with the 2017 Inter-State Fair and Rodeo Queen Meredith Taylor. From left to right: Michael Smith, third place; Marthena Draper, second place, Taylor, and Mary Conn, first place. Photo by Ruth Nicolaus.
