Mary L. Roper

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Mary L. Roper, 89, passed away December 17, 2024 at Overland Park Regional Medical Center with her immediate family by her side.

Mary was born July 11, 1935 in Kansas City, Kansas to John D. and Rose M. (Zagar) Sullivan. After graduating from Westport High School in 1953, she attended Central Missouri State University. She met her husband Paul there, and they married after finishing their junior year, a bond that lasted 65 years. After graduating in May 1957 with a bachelor’s degree in business, Mary got a job with AT&T in the international directory department. She left AT&T in 1960 to stay home with their children. 

Mary loved to sew and was an accomplished seamstress. She made many of her clothes over the years as well as her daughter’s. Mary created many placemats, napkins, potholders, and other items for family and friends. She also sewed items for others (scarves/turbans for women undergoing cancer treatment, blankets for premature infants). 

An avid reader, Mary put her love of reading to good use. For approximately 20 years, she volunteered at the low vision library, then located in KCMO’s downtown public library, recording books—ranging from college textbooks to novels. She volunteered for several years as a driver, along with Paul, for Johnson County’s Catch-a-Ride, a program that provides transportation to medical appointments, food pantries, or social service agencies for qualified individuals. They both enjoyed this volunteer job and said they met a lot of nice, interesting people.

Mary was a member of Ton-ka-wa, an association for family and community education, for 19 years until the unit disbanded in 2020. Each year, members received different lessons ranging from the legal system to food prep from K-State, and they learned a different lesson at a potluck luncheon each month. The members took on various projects, such as making teddy bears with a transparent plastic pocket on the front (for photo of the service person being deployed), so a child could hug their mom or dad when they hugged the bear. Members delivered the bears to Whiteman AFB and Fort Leavenworth. 

Vacations and traveling were important to Mary & Paul, as they tent-camped well into their 70s. They fulfilled one of Mary’s wishes when in 1972 they took their children and traveled by car in Europe for 6 weeks, tent-camping, of course. Mary & Paul traveled to different areas of the U.S that they had not explored before, and Canada. After Paul’s retirement, they frequently traveled south during the winter. Some of her favorite places included New Bern, and the Outer Banks of North Carolina; Apalachicola, Florida; and Jekyll Island, Georgia. They enjoyed meeting new people and formed lasting friendships with several people they had met while traveling, and Mary continued to correspond with them for years.

People who met Mary commented on how nice, sweet, and special she was. She was a kind-hearted and patient woman, although she would readily admit that she was stubborn. 

Mary is survived by her children, Benjamin P. Roper, Jr., and Theresa (Art) Lansdon; grandchildren, Patrick (Lisa) Lansdon, Ryan (Caryn Lawrence) Lansdon, and Kathleen (Tom) Lundine; great-granddaughters, Amelia and Claire Lansdon; siblings Dan (Lisa Chmielewski) Sullivan, Rose Marie (Clyde) Epperson, and Mike (Julie) Sullivan; and several nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.

A celebration of life for Mary will be held Monday, December 30th from 3-5 pm at Skradski Funeral Home, 340 N. 6th St., KCK.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Salvation Army, or the charity of your choice.

Arrangements by Skradski Funeral Home.