Mary Shour

Mary Elizabeth Shour, loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, was welcomed joyfully home by her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on March 19, 2018.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 AM on Saturday, March 24, 2018 at Terrace Park Cemetery, 801 NW 108th Street (Shoal Creek Parkway), Kansas City.

Mary was born to Lois Irene (Evans) and Charles Adam Groff on June 18, 1931 in Lyndon, KS, and was the oldest of five children. Her family moved to the Kansas City area so her father could support the World War II effort in munitions production. She had fond childhood memories of visiting family farms and shared these with her children. Mary reminded her children of their great grandfather who was ½ Cherokee Indian.

She graduated from Northeast High School in 1949, and worked at Southwestern Bell as a long distance operator. In 1951, she married Herbert H. Shour. From the time of the birth of her eldest child, she loved being a ‘stay-at-home’ Mom until her children were married. Mary returned to work as a bookkeeper for Shour & Associates until 1994. Mary held many positions with Cub Scouts, assisted with Boy Scouts, made sure her sons were at sports practices or music lessons on time, and served in various places in church activities (from nursery care to vacation Bible school to youth activities to singing in adult choir).

Mary was a member of Independence Boulevard Christian Church and Hillside Christian Church. She loved flower gardening and enjoyed traveling to various places (Alaska, Hawaii, and several countries in Europe), and participated in Elderhostel programs, but her favorite destination was Alpine, Colorado to the summer cabin that she and Herb built together with and for family as a mountain retreat. Also during her retirement years, Mary assisted people in income tax preparations, served as an ambassador at the KCI Airport, and was an active member of the Widowed Persons Services of Kansas City.

Mary devoted her adult life to caring for her husband of 36 years, who preceded her in death in 1987. Her sister Isa Belle Parker also preceded her in death. She is survived by 3 of her siblings: Duane Groff (Yve) of Waldorf, MD; Phillip Groff (Barbara) of Sun Lakes, AZ; and Charlene Smuda (Paul) of Stevens Point, WI; 3 sons: Craig Shour (Pat) of Englewood, FL, Mark Shour (DeDe) of Maxwell, IA, and Neale Shour (Lorie) of Gladstone, MO; 8 grandchildren: Lesa Shour, Ben Shour, Rebekkah Dorhout, Hannah Clark, Isaiah Shour, Kyle Shour, Katie Shour, Julia Shour; and 5 great grandchildren: Madeline Shour, Maxton Shour, Addison Clark, Thaddeus Shour, and Audra Shour.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Buena Vista/Chaffee County Historical Society or Ascend Hospice.