East was called patrona for her role in ensuring the health, education, and well-being of the ranch employees and their families.

East received the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal from Pope Pius XII in 1952, in recognition of her service and donations to the church.

She established the John G. and Marie Stella Kenedy Memorial Foundation, which became the center of decades of court cases between the family and the Diocese of Corpus Christi against a Trappist monk named Brother Leo and J. Peter Grace, who had facilitated the creation of the charitable organization.

The southern section, about 235,000 acres, is operated by the John G. and Marie Stella Kenedy Memorial Foundation, established by East.

She received the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal from Pope Pius XII in 1939 in recognition of her years of service and donations to the church.

The prayer book that she was given at her First Communion and the rosary beads that she carried with her are among the collection of the Bullock Texas State History Museum.

[1] In 1912, after graduating with a degree in agricultural management from Texas A&M University, her brother John married Elena Suess and settled at the La Parra Ranch compound.

Pope Pius XII recognized her years of service to the church in 1952 by awarding her the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal.

[c] He had been assigned to raise funds for new Trappist monasteries,[1][14] due to the large influx of men who had fought in World War II who wanted to become monks.

[17] East began to consider establishing a charitable foundation by 1956,[14] due to large deposits of oil and gas that had been found on La Parra, which were expected to significantly increase her wealth.

[15] East established the John G. and Marie Stella Kenedy Memorial Foundation, a charitable organization, on January 21, 1960, with the assistance of Brother Leo and his contact J. Peter Grace.

[1] She also changed the members of the foundation's board of directors by removing a lawyer, a relative, and a Bishop from Corpus Christi.

Archbishop John Krol of Philadelphia was sent by the Consistorial Congregation that oversees activity affecting the Holy See (Vatican) to investigate.

[18] According to Time magazine, the fight for East's estate was "a bitter battle of words and wits that echoes all the way to the Vatican.

This varied substantially from a will that she made in 1948 that gave 23,000 acres of La Parra Ranch to the church and the bulk of her estate to two first cousins, her closest living relatives.

[15] A suit was filed a few months after her death by Elena Suess Kenedy, members of the Turcotte family, and the Diocese of Corpus Christi.

As a result of the cases, the 1960 will was upheld with the bulk of her estate in the John G. and Marie Stella Kenedy Memorial Foundation, but it would be operated primarily by Texas relatives and associates.

[21] The southern section, about 235,000 acres, is operated by the John G. and Marie Stella Kenedy Memorial Foundation, established by East.