Joe and Rosella McKay Service Award
In 2023, the St. Paul Mission Historical Society established the Joe and Rosella McKay award for service to the Society as a way to honor individuals who have performed outstanding service to the Society.
The awardee(s) will have their name inscribed on a plaque in the Murphy House and will receive and award certificate at the October annual meeting.
Any dues paying or Life member of the Society may make a nomination, and the awardee will be selected from the nominations by a majority vote of the Board of Directors
Maureen Ernst was a St Paul Mission Historical Society (SPMHS) founding board member. She was the SPMHS secretary from 1976 until she died in 2018.
As a board member, her contributions included the normal secretary duties plus grant writing, organizing events, and spreading the word about St. Paul and the St. Paul Mission Historical Society. She organized several goal-setting meetings that resulted in directions for the society. When the SPMHS considered an activity, Maureen is the person who implemented it. This even included a fly-over for one activity.
She retired from Mt. Angel Telephone and owned her own marketing and consulting business. She was active in the community of Mt. Angel as a board member for the Mt. Angel Chamber of Commerce, co-founder of the Mt. Angel Hazelnut Festival and Mt. Angel Lions Club.
Maureen’s St. Paul roots date back to early statehood. Her ancestor family names include Drescher, Moffenbeier, Eberle, Merten, Gooding, Hughes, and Connor.
Maureen is survived by her children, Angela Capps, Ben Ernst (Ann), and Madeline Tanner (Rob); and grandchildren: Margo Metcalf-Capps, McKaylie and Brynn Capps; Zachary and Riley Ernst; and Kellen and Allison Tanner.
Siblings - Sue Price (Jim), Peggy Sellers (John), Mary Paret (Jack) and Dan Drescher (Jodi).
Maureen left a legacy that included these two phrases that she lived by:
• “Give back to your community. And do it because you want to.”
• “Know your ancestors and appreciate what they did for you.”
