Mary Therese (M.T.) Vann, of Springfield, died suddenly in the emergency room of St. John's Hospital on December 31, 2016. MT was born on July 28, 1961 to Bill and Theresa Vann. She was born into a raucous family that up to that time had four boys. She was the baby of the family until another boy, David, was born in 1971.

M.T. went to St. Agnes Grade School, Sacred Heart Academy and attended the University of Illinois. She had owned two coffee houses, Cup and Chaucer and later Higher Grounds. She really found her professional footing as she entered, like a bull in a china shop, the auction and real estate business. She developed a wonderful following as she auctioned at the Patty Doyle Auction Gallery on Friday evenings. She also did a lot of commercial and land auction work. Her auctioneer work also included countless charity auctions, where she would show up dressed to the nines in her tuxedo and work the room to help all those non-profits. M.T. was also a partner in Prairie Property Solutions. She was particularly proud of her work that helped so many people buy their first homes. She was a member of the IL Association of Realtors, Capitol Area Realtors, and the National Association of Auctioneers.

Her community work was widespread, but nothing was more important to her than the mission of the Phoenix Center. She joined the Board of Directors in 2007 and served as both Vice-President and President during her 8 years of service. During this time, M.T. served as an ambassador for the LGBT community and was a part of the first Springfield PrideFest Committee. In recent years, she had also taken an active role in grass roots politics at the local level.

Her greatest accomplishment in life may have been the care and comfort she provided her parents for a decade as their health declined. It was her life's mission to keep Mom and Dad in their home until the end and she succeeded with gusto despite great personal and professional sacrifice.

M.T. was preceded in death by her parents, Bill and Theresa Vann. She is survived by five brothers, Bishop Kevin Vann of Orange County, California, Dennis Vann (wife, Claudia; nephew, William; niece, Barrett) of St. Paul, Minnesota, Les Vann (wife, Shannon) of Cape Coral Florida; nephews, Kyle and John (wife, Dawn); and great-niece, Violet; Gerry Vann (husband, David Pearson) of Boston, and David Vann of San Francisco; and her beloved fur babies.

Celebration of Life: 10:00 a.m. on Friday, January 6, 2017 at the Crowne Plaza, 3000 S. Dirksen Parkway, Springfield, IL.

Private family burial was held at Calvary Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to the Theresa Vann Scholarship Fund, c/o St. John's Hospital, 800 E. Carpenter, Springfield, IL 62702 or The Phoenix Center, 109 E. Lawrence Ave., Springfield, IL 62704.