Mary J. Newkirk

Mary J. Newkirk, 83, Shawnee, Kansas, passed away surrounded by her family on August 10, 2011, at Overland Park Regional Hospital.

Mary was born November 18, 1927, in Highland Park, Michigan, to William and Nettie Jenkin. She grew up in Highland Park and Carleton, Michigan, and graduated from Carleton High School in 1945.

She married George Newkirk on July 1, 1951, in Miami, Oklahoma. They lived in Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas, before moving to Shawnee in 1961. They became the parents of two children, David and Emily.

She volunteered for years at Shawnee Mission Medical Center until her health forced her to move to Shawnee Gardens in 2008. She had a lifelong passion of reading books and was a master at Jeopardy her favorite show. She enjoyed playing bingo and dominos at Shawnee Gardens with all her friends. She was a "fixture" in the front lobby and greeted everyone with her smile. Thanks to her very good friend Ken Fair of Overland Park she was able to attend the West Lenexa Seventh-Day Adventist Church every week where she made many more good friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents; step-mother Nancy Jane; sisters, Emily, Jean, and Dorothy; her husband; daughter Emily; and son John. She is survived by her son David and wife Denise of Paola, Kansas; grandchildren, Stephanie Newkirk of Shawnee, Kansas, Nick, Haley, and Logan Newkirk of Paola, Kansas; brother David Jenkin and wife Peggy of Leo, Indiana; and sister Marjorie of Butler, Indiana.

Visitation and Graveside Service

A visitation will be from 3:00-5:00 p.m., Sunday, August 14, 2011, at the Amos Family Chapel of Shawnee. Graveside service will be at 11:00 a.m., Monday, August 15, 2011, at Pleasant View Cemetery, 6100 Quivira Road, Shawnee, Kansas.