Mary Elwood

Mary Elwood, 84, passed away Sunday January 15, 2023 at Delmar Gardens of Lenexa. Mary was preceded in death by her husband Raymond Elwood, her parents Bryan and Elizabeth (Harrison) Robbins, and brother Bob Robbins.

Mary is survived by her daughters Debbie (Dan) Stuteville of Bucyrus, Janet (Rick) Harms of Olathe, and Betty (Mike) Lauer of Massachusetts; Beloved In-laws, neighbors, and friends Jerry and Doris Elwood; 8 grandchildren Brad Lauer, Dana Lauer, Beth Block, Laura Hollon, Tim Lauer, Jamie Harms, Caitlin Nichols, and Jill Lauer; 7 great grandchildren; many other relatives and friends.

During her life, Mary had many hobbies such as quilting, sewing, baking, gardening, hunting down bargains, spending time with her grandchildren, and taking road trips all over the US with her husband, Raymond.

She was the type of grandma who made homemade Halloween costumes, baked fancy-looking birthday cakes, and taught us how to play solitaire with real playing cards. She made us clean our plates so she didn’t have to “blister our bottoms”. She was “39 again” our whole lives, which was really confusing growing up! Her love for us and sense of humor will be deeply missed.

Mary fought a tough battle with cancer over the past year and a half. She often said, “if you can laugh, you can get through anything.” She was constantly making ornery jokes and loved making people laugh (especially herself!) She became a trivia master, and enjoyed listening to audiobooks. Her persistent hard work and optimism during these difficult times has been an inspiration to us all.

A special thank you to Amanda Moses - our family will be forever grateful for the amount of love, support, and friendship you’ve shared with our mother/grandmother. Words cannot describe the difference you have made in our lives.

Graveside services will be held at 2:30 pm Friday January 20, 2023 at Bucyrus Cemetery under the direction of Dengel & Son Mortuary, 305 N. Pearl St., Paola, KS, 66071, www.dengelmortuary.com.

If you would like to donate in memory of Mary, please consider The Sarah Cannon Fund at American Cancer Society, https://sarahcannon.com/about/sarah-cannon-fund.dot.

Family and friends are encouraged to post their memories and condolences on Mary's tribute wall.