Mulvane – Brashear, Mary, 78, died Sunday, August 21, 2022.
Mary Frances (Young) Brashear, homemaker and nurse, was born June 15, 1944 in Wichita, Kansas.
She was raised on a farm northeast of Clearwater, Kansas. Her father was a farmer who grew wheat and raised
shorthorn cattle. Her mother was a homemaker and a school teacher at Oatville Grade School.
Mary attended the Clearwater Public School System and graduated from Clearwater High School in 1962. As a
youth she was active in the First Baptist Church of Clearwater and was a 10-year member of the Ninnescah Valley
4-H Club.
Following high school graduation in 1962 she attended Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas and in 1964
went on to the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City. She received her Bachelor of Science in Home
Economics and Bachelor of Science from K-State and Bachelor of Science in Nursing from KU in 1966.
On July 26, 1969 she married Garry Brashear of Kansas City, Kansas. They had three children: Bruce and Lance in
1971 and Brent in 1974. They moved from Kansas City to Mulvane, Kansas in 1981, where all three boys attended
public school and graduated from Mulvane High School.
In 1987, after 16 years as a homemaker, Mary went to work for St. Joseph Hospital in Wichita as a nurse in the Ask-
A-Nurse Program. Ten years later she went to work as a school nurse in the Wichita Public School system while
also working for the Mental Health Association. She retired in 2000 due to disability following back surgery.
Mary was a life-long, dedicated Southern Baptist. She also belonged to other organizations such as the local
chapter of the Red Hat Society. Throughout her life Mary enjoyed cooking and baking, celebrating the holidays,
and scrapbooking with her friends.
By far, one of the greatest impacts upon her life was the removal of her kidneys in 1993 due to cancer. She
received dialysis treatments for four years until 1997 when she received a kidney transplant from a 19-year-old
donor named Michele. That gift lasted eight years, at which point she resumed dialysis for the remaining 17 years
of her life. The modern science miracles of organ transplantation and kidney dialysis allowed her to live a full life
in which she was able to travel, witness the marriage of her children, and enjoy many years with her grandchildren.
She is deeply missed by her family.
Visitation: Friday, August 26, from 1:00 pm to 8:00 pm with the family present from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at Smith
Mortuary in Mulvane. Celebration of Life: 10:00 am, Saturday, August 27, 2022 at First Baptist Church, Mulvane.
Interment to follow at Greenwood Cemetery, Wichita, Kansas.
Mary was preceded in death by her parents, William Arthur Young and Dorothy Frances Young; brother, Bill Young;
husband, Garry Brashear.
Mary is survived by sons, Bruce Brashear, Lance Brashear & wife Paulina Valencia, and Brent Brashear;
Grandchildren Nicolas, Camila, Alivia, Arthur, and Msuri.
Memorial contributions may be sent to the First Baptist Church of Mulvane Women’s Class (Senior Ladies), 1020 N.
Second Street, Mulvane, Kansas, 67110.
Mary’s family would like to remind everyone that the greatest donation is that of an organ and that anyone can
become an organ donor through their state’s registry (For Kansans: donatelifeks.com) or by designating your
choice on your driver’s license.