Fraker – Mary Jo Steger, age 86, of Kingston, TN, passed away peacefully on May 1, 2025, on her 86th birthday.  Born May 1, 1939, in Louisville, KY, to the late Helen and Perry Pryor, she moved with her family to Oak Ridge, TN, in 1954.  Mary Jo graduated from Knoxville Catholic HS in 1957 and Ursuline College in 1961, with a Bachelor of Arts.

Mary Jo started her career as a Medical Technician at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.  She met Philip at St. Mary’s Church in Oak Ridge, where they married May 16, 1964.  They had three children over the next six years.  Mary Jo loved and focused on her growing family while building a second passion for dogs and human-animal companionship.

Mary Jo became a fixture locally with the Oak Ridge Kennel Club.   She helped grow the ORKC as a leader of events and training classes through the 2010s.  Mary Jo was known nationally through Oakengates and the Bearded Collie Club of America.  She purchased her first Beardie in 1978, starting her Oakengates kennel.  Over the next 30 years, she bred over 140 beardies, had 33 show champions, plus multiple titles and certifications in every major American Kennel Club discipline – obedience, tracking, herding, and agility.  The BCCA recognizes her as a pioneer of the breed’s development.  In later years, she switched to the smaller Havanese.  She trained the first certified Havanese tracking dog in the USA.

Mary Jo truly loved developing the human-dog connection.  She touched thousands of people through her teaching, plus correspondence on care and training.  She helped grow Human Animal Bond in Tennessee (HABIT), bringing therapy Beardies to patients in mental health facilities, in addition to health care and senior care centers.  She supported multiple dog rescue organizations.  Her tracking dogs even supported local groups looking for missing persons, lost animals, or items.

Mary Jo will be remembered for kindness, quiet leadership, and profound empathy. She was predeceased by her parents.  She is survived by husband Phil, brother Robert, son John (Gabriela), their daughter Natalie, son Michael, son David (Amy), and their children Sam, Luke, and Noah.  Mary Jo loved being a grandmother.  Her grandchildren brought her great joy when visiting together, and she regularly attended their music, theatre, and sporting events.

There will be a reception of friends and a celebration of life at St Mary’s Church in Oak Ridge on May 23 at 10:00 am.  A funeral mass will follow at 11:00 am, followed by the installation of her ashes in the columbarium.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to HABIT or a local animal welfare organization of your choice.

Fraker Funeral Home of Kingston in charge of all the arrangements.