Talley, Mae Sue

Kinney; niece Lauren Haggerty; uncle Dean and aunt Diane Paulus, and many cousins. Private services are pending. Remembrances may be made in Kevin’s honor to the Humane Society of Sedona, Az. - 2115 Shelby Dr. Sedona Az 86336 The Honorable Mae Sue Talley, a prominent Phoenix philanthropist and Arizona leader, beloved mother and grandmother, passed away on Thursday, March 9, at the age of 93, a great loss to her family and Arizona’s civic and business communities. Mrs. Talley was born on November 27, 1923 in Hampton, Virginia, to Jacob Rechsteiner and Mazelle Dunham Rechsteiner. She grew up in Hampton and Evansville, Indiana. Mrs. Talley attended Indiana University. She was married to rocketry pioneer and inventor, the late Franz G. Talley, for 38 years until his death in 1978. Mr. Talley was known for his designs in ejection seat, automobile airbag, and other safety technologies. Mrs. Talley served Arizona and her country as an executive, diplomat and philanthropist. Mrs. Talley and her husband founded Talco Engineering in Connecticut after WWII; they moved to Arizona for the founding of Talley Industries in the 1950’s. Talley Industries grew into a diversified Fortune 500 company and was a major employer in the Phoenix metro area for several decades. She purchased and continued publication of the Arizonian, the state’s first newspaper. As Director of Interior Design, she oversaw the rebuilding of the Arizona Biltmore after a fire damaged much of the property. The family also owned and ran the historic Castle Hot Springs Resort, which she later gifted to Arizona State University. During Talley Industries’ ownership, the Biltmore transferred Squaw Peak and much of the current Phoenix Mountain Preserve to the City of Phoenix. This transfer helped to form the large metropolitan park and prevent further development in this scenic area. The Talley family spearheaded the founding of Phoenix Country Day School in 1960. She served as its first Chairman of the Board and was a major benefactor during the school’s early years. Mrs. Talley was a tireless advocate for the empowerment of women. Her wit and grace was apparent when she served as Vice Chair for the Defense Department Advisory Commission on Women in the Services. Her efforts there led to the opening of the nation’s service academies to women. During the 1980’s Mrs. Talley served with the U.S. Agency for International Development and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. She also was a Commissioner for the United States Commission on Public Diplomacy, UNESCO, the President’s Export Council, the Commission on Presidential Scholars and the President’s Commission on Executive Exchange and numerous other government commissions. Mrs. Talley was a long-serving board member of the Taliesin Foundation and the Arizona Graduate School of International Management. She chaired or served on over 30 other non-profit boards, such as the ASU Foundation. She was a founding board member for organizations including: Hospice of the Valley, Barrow’s Neurological Institute Women’s Board, Phoenix Opera Company and the Stillman-McCormick Railroad Park in Scottsdale. She and her daughter donated the family’s historic Roald Amundsen Pullman car, originally used by each president from Hoover to Eisenhower, to the park. Mrs. Talley received numerous awards during her lifetime, including an honorary doctorate from Arizona State University. Most recently, she received the Joe Foss Institute’s Stars in Service Award in 2014 and induction to the Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame in 2016. Her son, Steven of Phoenix and Auckland, New Zealand, daughter, Patricia of Scottsdale, and grandson, Michael of Los Angeles and two grand-dachshunds survive her. A service will be held on March 31 at St. Barnabas on the Desert Church in Paradise Valley at 2:00 pm. The family requests donations to the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center Endowment at the Honor Health Foundation website in lieu of flowers.