Mary was inspired to visit Father Flanagan’s Home for Boys after seeing the 1938 Oscar® award-winning film, Boys Town. During her visit, she asked Father Flanagan what she could do to help, and he indicated that funding for a Catholic Chapel on campus was needed. Mary wrote a check for $200,000 (equivalent to nearly $5 million today) to build the chapel, named in honor of her family, that was dedicated in 1941.

At the time of her sudden death in 1942, she also left a generous gift in a trust to Father Flanagan to ensure Dowd Chapel’s continued maintenance and upkeep. As Mary once said, “I believe in doing something only for a really worthwhile organization, and that is exactly what Boys Town is.”