Mary Jane Hanley and Rachel Docekal
Dear Hanley family,
It is with the heaviest of hearts that I share with you that Mary Jane Hanley, the founder and visionary behind Hanley Center and Hanley Foundation, passed on October 28th, 2024. I had the opportunity to speak with her son, Mike, who let me know that her passing was peaceful.
I know that one of her greatest joys was traveling to Hanley Center this past January and meeting with our incredible staff, Board members, and community partners – all of whom have translated her vision into life-saving programs.
We have lost one of the pioneers in our field. I am fiercely proud to do this work in her name. Join me in remembering and honoring her legacy that forever changed our community for the better.
Gratefully,
Rachel Docekal
CEO of Hanley Foundation
Article originally published in Hanley Foundation’s Recovery Revolution magazine, December 2023
How One Woman’s Courage Broke Through the Stigma and Brought Light to the Dark Corners of Addiction
Mary Jane Hanley didn’t choose to become the public face of a new alcohol and drug treatment center being planned for Palm Beach County in the early-1980s. The mission chose her.
Mary Jane and her husband, John W. “Jack” Hanley, had lived the American dream in the post-World War II economic boom. But the 1960s alcohol-infused social life of the wife of a corporate executive overwhelmed the somewhat shy Mary Jane Hanley.
Jack and Mary Jane Hanley
“I found that a couple of drinks helped me get over my shyness, and I could be more outgoing,” she later said.
Over the years, the social pressures increased, and Mary Jane’s “couple of drinks” became three, or four, or more. Most people didn’t understand alcoholism in those days. Jack’s attitude was, “Why can’t she just stop?”
By 1975, her drinking in public had become so concerning to Jack that she retreated to drinking at home. Finally, she thought to herself, “Something is definitely wrong. You must be an alcoholic.”
At that very moment, she said, Jack walked through the front door and said, “Mary Jane, I can’t work.”
“I will never, as long as I live, forget the face on that man,” said Mary Jane years later.
“That’s when I hit bottom.”
She went to the telephone and called a local addiction treatment center.
“After I had been in treatment about two-to-three weeks, I was sitting in the back lawn of the center, all by myself. And, all of a sudden, this great peace came over me. I realized, ‘you are an alcoholic, you belong here.’ It was as though a big cloak had been lifted from my shoulder.”
She completed her treatment and has remained sober ever since. Returning home, though, the social stigma of those dark days remained.
She largely kept her addiction to herself and her AA meetings.
Mary Jane and her son, Mike Hanley
But when the family decided to create a major drug and alcohol treatment center in West Palm Beach, she knew she had to come out. Mary Jane was with Jack at a fundraising event at their new South Florida home in Lost Tree Village. Mary Jane stood up and told her story.
As Jack tells it, “I was sitting at the head table with her, watching the audience. There were 150 to 200 of her friends there, and when she told her story, tears were streaming down the cheeks of men and women. It was the single most courageous act I’d ever seen…
She is one gutsy lady.”
That coming out was just the beginning.
In the intervening years, Mary Jane Hanley continued to advocate on behalf of people in need and those who provide quality, evidence-based treatment and recovery services.
Hanley Center, as it became known, and Hanley Foundation continue to be national leaders in the field of substance use disorders.
Mary Jane Hanley’s Obituary
Mary Jane Reel Hanley
Apr 25, 1927 – Oct 28, 2024
Mary Jane Reel Hanley, 97, died Monday, October 28, 2024 at her home.
Formerly a resident of Cincinnati, Ohio, St. Louis, Missouri, West Palm Beach, Florida, and Vero Beach, Florida, Mrs. Hanley was a resident of Winston-Salem and Roaring Gap, North Carolina.
Born April 25, 1927 in Carmel, California, she was the daughter of Perry and Helen Reel.
Mrs. Hanley was preceded in death by her husband John “Jack” Weller Hanley, March 15, 2018.
She is survived by her sons, John Jr. and his wife Sondra of Santa Rosa, California; Michael and his wife Linda of Atlanta, Georgia, and her daughter Susan Myers and her husband James of Nashville, Tennessee. She is also survived by nine grandchildren and twelve great grandchildren.
She was a graduate of the University of the Pacific, with a B.A. degree.
Her support of national charities was recognized as she was elected to the Volunteer Boards of the Children’s Hospital and Cerebral Palsy organizations located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her interest in helping people suffering from alcoholism and drug dependency led her to co-found with her husband several treatment centers in Florida – the Hanley Center in W. Palm Beach, and Gate Lodge in Vero Beach. She also served as a director of The Hanley Foundation, The Hazelden Foundation and in 2006 was the recipient of the America Honors Recovery Award from the Johnson Institute for her dedication to the field of addiction treatment.
Her lifelong enthusiasm for golf saw her serving as a member of the Hyde Park Country Club, Cincinnati Country Club and Camargo Club, all of Cincinnati, Ohio, Old Warson Country Club of St. Louis, Missouri, The Lost Tree Club, The Piper’s Landing Club, The Bent Pine Club and the Oak Harbor Club, all in Florida and Roaring Gap Club in Roaring Gap, North Carolina.
A private family celebration will be held.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you consider contributions in her memory to the Hanley Foundation.
HANLEY CENTER FOUNDATION, INC. (EIN 20-2871945), A FLORIDA CORPORATION, IS A 501(c)(3) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION AND ALL GIFTS TO THE ORGANIZATION ARE DEDUCTIBLE ON CORPORATE, FOUNDATION, AND INDIVIDUAL TAX RETURNS TO THE EXTENT PROVIDED BY STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS. A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION (CH23725) AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL FREE 1-800-435-7352. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.
