Mary Jo Troughton

Mary Jo Troughton, 77 year old resident of Lenexa, KS passed away on Sunday, February 10, 2019 at Delmar Gardens of Lenexa after suffering with dementia.

Mrs. Troughton was born in September of 1941, in Wichita, KS to the late G. Joe Williams and Arlene (Jones) Williams Taylor. She was a 1959 graduate of Westport High School Kansas City Missouri. She attended Oklahoma Baptist University. In her later years, she went back to college and received an Associates in Arts from Johnson County Community College and a Bachelor of Arts in Business from Mid-America Nazarene University.

In 1961, Mary Jo married Kent Troughton as a nightingale sang amidst more than sixty rose bushes. Through the ups and downs of life, they were each other's one and only true love. Throughout their marriage, she did the books and then payroll for their business, Holiday Pools of KC. She later worked for Quintiles and KU Cancer Center, where she was administrative support for research studies. She worked up until her dementia inhibited her. She loved to work and support a team - to make a difference.

Mary Jo's guiding light was her salvation through Jesus Christ and her unwavering devotion to God. Throughout her life, she actively served the Lord, taking on many roles both at her local church and with the Kansas - Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptist. Her service took her to Bosnia and Croatia on a Mission trip as the countries recovered from war. She found great joy in meeting others and sharing her love of God.

As she began a family, she taught herself to sew. This skill turned into a passion for all things creating including painting, knitting, crocheting, smocking, embroidery, tatting, quilting and French hand sewing. She put all these skills together when she started making dolls. Mary Jo started Dolls to Love and made custom dolls for others.

She is survived by the love of her life Richard "Kent" Troughton, daughters Tammy Ruder (Terry), Jennifer Troughton, son Kent Troughton (Carrie), grandchildren Tera (Ryan), Richard (Melissa), Koty, Thomas, Tiffany and Tessa, great-grandchildren Lucas, Silas, Logan, her brothers Ron Williams (Josie), Gary Williams (Donielle), sister Deanna Schmidt (Larry), and a large extended family.

A Memorial service will be held at Union Station Kansas City, in the Arthur Stilwell room on Sunday, February 24 at 11:30 am with visitation from 11:00 am - 11:30 am. Those attending will have the opportunity to share their memories of Mary Jo.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to The Alzheimer's Association or The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering - International Mission Board.