Mary Kay Hajek
By Zach Bolinger
Mary Kay Hajek used to joke with her children about how bad her teams were when she played sports at Doylestown-Chippewa High School in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
However, what Hajek accomplished decades later as a physical education teacher, community mentor, junior high and high school coach in the Doylestown-Chippewa district, is certainly no laughing matter.
The late Hajek, who helped start and then build Chippewa’s top-level soccer program – after she was paramount in the feeder program for the Chipps’ historic girls basketball program during one of its most memorable time frames – is a revered figure in the community.
Hajek’s longtime commitment to the Doylestown district before her passing in December, 2022 has led to her being named the 2024 Harold Oswald Special Contributor Award.
Hajek is being honored by the Wayne County Sports Hall of Fame Board for her longtime support of area athletics and the impact on hundreds of young girls lives. Hajek was a longtime WCSHOF board member and cherished member of the group.
“She was definitely invested in girls sports before most people gave it a second look,” said 1997 Chippewa grad and 2008 Wayne County Sports Hall of Famer, Charbea Haller-Tetzel, who had Hajek as a teacher and coach at the youth level. “The thing that stands out the most for me is that we battled in gym class. First through eighth grade, everything was a competition. She used gym class to develop athletes.”
Hajek taught Physical Education at Saints Peter and Paul School in Doylestown for 17 years. In 1985 she started the girls basketball program at the small private school. Not long after, the high school program at Chippewa’s Lady Chipps won 103 straight Wayne County Athletic League games from 1990 to 1998, with many of the upper-echelon players a product of the Catholic school.
“We always had a team song, a team motto. The camaraderie and friendships were like no other,” Haller-Tetzel said. “She demanded hard work, without ever really raising her voice. She was a teacher and coach who you really felt was invested in you as a young person.”
In 1995, Hajek was a key figure in helping start Chippewa’s girls soccer program. She helped coach inside the program from that point until her death in 2022. The program led by coach Ruth Coney has enjoyed multiple conference championships, four teams which advanced to the State Final Four and two state runner-up teams.
Hajek also coached track at Chippewa Middle School, where she taught Social Studies for 20 years. Hajek was added to the Wall of Honor at Chippewa High in 2015, the year she retired from teaching.
“Her favorite sports memory? This one is tough, because she had her hand in so many things and was successful at many of them,” said Beth Hajek-Lewis, Mary Kay’s daughter. “If she were here today, we honestly believe she would say it’s a tie between when one of her CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) teams earned the sportsmanship award and taking multiple soccer teams to the state tournament.”
Hajek married her high school sweetheart, Jody Hajek, in 1973. The two were married for 39 years, before Jody passed away due to complications from a brain tumor in 2013.
They had four children: Karen Steen lives in Doylestown with her husband Scott and three children; Beth Lewis is also in Doylestown were her husband Jake and their two children; Mary Jo Kaye and her husband, Lonnie, live in Conway, South Carolina; Kenny Hajek passed away in January of 2022.
WCSHOF/Harold Oswald Special Contributor Award