Mary Elizabeth Hess

On Sunday, December 27, 2020, Mary Hess, loving wife and mother of two children, quietly and peacefully passed away at age 89.

Mary was born on September 28th, 1931 to Henry & Florence Gordon in Waterville, KS – the 13th of 14 children. She graduated from Waterville High School in 1949 then moved to Wichita where she began working at King’s X, a diner at Central and Oliver, and ultimately met her husband, Johnnie. They married in 1952 and spent 20 years together in Derby before Johnnie passed in 1972.

Mary spent the majority of her working career as a “lunch lady” for El Paso and Tanglewood schools in Derby. In her spare time, she enjoyed working at the local frame shop, Derby IGA, and the Derby Cinema.

A woman of many talents, she enjoyed sewing, baking, candy and jelly making, ceramics, and cross-stitch. Her home, and many others, are filled with many of these colorful items. She would customize ceramic newborn shoes for family and friends.

Mary was preceded in death by her father and mother, 9 of her 13 siblings, and husband, Johnnie. She is survived by three of her sisters, Viola, Marjorie, and Doris; her daughter Dorothy Miller (Lonny) and her two children, Shawn Ackerman (Chris) and Tony Applegate, and Shawn’s two children, Christina and Amanda; and son Ron Hess (Roxanna), and their two children, Larissa Hawkinson (Nathanael) and Jennifer Zimmerman (Josiah), and Larissa’s three children, Olivia, Tate, and Alex.

A funeral service will be held at 11:00 am Saturday, January 2nd, 2021, at the Derby Church of the Nazarene at 840 N. Woodlawn in Derby. Smith Family Mortuary will be handling the services. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent for Kindred Hospice, 9229 E. 37th St. North, Suite 102 B, Wichita, Kansas 67226.