"MJ" Birmingham Supplee - IMAC HS Class of 1949

Mary Jane “MJ” Supplee, 86, of Leavenworth, died at her home, Friday, Aug. 10, 2018, surrounded by family, after a brave fight against cancer and emphysema. She was born Oct. 4, 1931, in Leavenworth, the second of three daughters to Ambrose and Gladys (Ryan) Birmingham.  Raised in Leavenworth, she graduated from Immaculata High School in 1949. 
MJ had four sons, Vinton (Suzanne), Timothy (Susan), Matthew (Linda) and Douglas (Julie) from her first marriage to Vinton S. Stewart. 
She met the true love of her life, career Army officer Charles Robert Hatch “Bob” Supplee, while working at Fort Leavenworth for the Department of Transportation. They married June 11, 1960 and soon deployed to West Germany, where they added two daughters, Karen and Penny (Pat), to the bonded family. MJ is also survived by a sister, Patricia A. Corley (LHS Class of 1954); a brother-in-law, Fred Retter; 13 grandchildren and one great-grandson.
They returned to the United States in 1963 and lived in various locations during Bob’s assignments to include Virginia, Nebraska, Indiana and Kansas. She kept the family together and whole during his two year-long combat deployments to Vietnam.
After Col. Supplee’s retirement, they resided in Leavenworth, Kansas City and Clayton, Missouri, as Bob pursued a second career as a stockbroker and branch manager, finally settling in Leavenworth in the 1980s. Bob preceded her in death in in 1997. She was also preceded in death by her parents and a sister, Carole Retter.
MJ was known not only for her great sense of style and design, but for her striking beauty which surpassed the surface as she devoted her life to the loving care of her husband, children and parents. After Bob passed away, her children and grandchildren were a great source of joy until the end of her life. She was the heart of the extended family and her love and spirit will live on in them. She will be greatly missed by every one of them.
Visitation will be from 10-11 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018, at the R.L. Leintz Funeral Home. A funeral service will begin at 11 a.m. Wednesday, at the funeral home. Burial will follow at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to Sacred Heart Church or the National Resources Defense Council.

Together ♥♥♥ Forever

Charles Robert Hatch Supplee, “Bob”, was born in Columbia, PA on July 9th, 1925 to the late Brig General Charles Lockard and Esther Hatch Supplee. Growing up while his father was captain of the National Guard  Infantry Company, Bob accompanied him to weekly drills and summer encampments, instilling a love for the Army. Longtime childhood friend, Frank Smoker wrote, “At Columbia High, Bob was a leader and a sharp student who excelled in all activities.  He was well liked & respected by his peers and teachers.” Graduating as class valedictorian, Bob went straight to West Point.
Classmate Jack Shultz wrote, “ Bob was one of the personalities that gave F-2 its identity and distinctive profile within the class. He exhibited a knack for seeing, savoring, and exploiting the humor in everyday happenings.” 
Bob graduated in the top 10% of his class, in the Corps of Engineers.  Following basic schooling, Bob was one of eight Engineer classmates who opted for Airborne training. 
Classmate Bud Sterling remembered, “That event linked our lives forever. We began our active duty en route to Japan, all thinking we would join the 11th Airborne Division. Instead we were assigned to the Post Hostilities Mapping Program. Six of us in 1949 ended up on Leyte in the Philippines on the same mission. Supe, as he was known, had already become a fixture in the 29th Engineers by adding humor to our tropical situation. I remember his creation of ‘Cebue City Sue’ (to the tune of ‘Sioux City Sue’) which we all had to learn.”
Bob’s career was distinguished and diversified. He was justly proud of serving in combat operations in both Korea, as Company Commander, 77th Engineer Combat Battalion, and Vietnam, as III Corps Engineer Adviser on his first tour, and Director of Construction for all South Vietnam on his second tour. A substantial amount of his troop duty was within Infantry organizations: 11th Airborne Division, 1st, 9th, and 25th Infantry Divisions and the Berlin Brigade. He was the quintessential combat engineer.
The Army selected Bob to earn an MS in mathematics from Harvard and a master’s in civil engineering from MIT. He was a graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Ft McNair, Washington DC, and the Command and General Staff College, Ft Leavenworth, KS. 
Among his many assignments, Bob also served as commander, Army Element,
Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff, Offutt AFB, Omaha, NE, professor of military science, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN. His final assignment before retirement as a Colonel in 1976 was Deputy Installation Commander, Fort Leavenworth, KS. He earned a Masters in Business Administration from NW Missouri State University during this assignment.
Ft Leavenworth was also a place of significance for Bob as it is where he met his love in life, MJ Birmingham, whom he married on Jun 11th, 1960.  They raised six children together as they traveled and moved household across the country for Bob’s assignments. Bob and MJ had a rare love for one another; their years spent apart while Bob was in Vietnam made the rest of their years together all the more precious and cherished. The life they built together was best described by Bob himself, “My cup runneth over.”
In retirement from the Army, Bob worked as Branch Manager for the brokerage
firms Merrill Lynch Fidelity Services and Commerce Brokerage Services, in St Louis and Kansas City, MO. Bob retired finally in 1993 in Leavenworth and spent his days happily with MJ and their family, reading to his beloved grandchildren and enjoying all until his death on May 13, 1997.
Bob is remembered today as a leader of excellence, in both his military and
civilian careers, a most loving, gentle, and steadfast husband, father, grandfather, and friend. His intelligence never set him apart from others and his
rare good humor, wit, and wordplay were a delight to everyone who knew him. He epitomized integrity, honor, and compassion. In his last days, he showed amazing cheer and continued interest in those family and friends around him. What a true inspiration he was, and is, to all of us. His oldest daughter Karen said it best, “my hero.”