Mary Evelyn Anderson

Mary Evelyn Anderson (Waldon), devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great-great-grandmother passed away on March 1, 2025, in Overland Park, Kansas, at the age of 95. Born on July 27, 1929, in Kansas City, Kansas, Mary lived a remarkable life. At the tender age of 14, she married the love of her life, Richard, who was 16! Together they forged a lifelong partnership based on love and unwavering commitment, celebrating an extraordinary 81 years of marriage on January 22, 2025.

A woman of incredible work ethic, Mary built a successful career with Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, where she worked for 30 years without ever missing a single day. Despite not having a high school diploma, she advanced to a supervisor level by demonstrating sheer determination, intelligence, and doing her very best every day.

Beyond her career, Mary was an accomplished and competitive tennis player and a fan of many sports. If Title IX had existed when she was young, she would have participated in every sport possible, been the captain of the team and a star – she was quite an athlete! Mary cheered on her sons as they played sports growing up, and loved listening to and watching the Royals, Chiefs, and the K-State Wildcats. But her real passion was tennis, taking up the sport at age 55 and becoming a competitive, ranked tennis player until the age of 89. She also enjoyed playing Mahjong and completing Sudoku every day.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Merle and Wynona Waldon, and her sister Josie Rae Hopkins. Mary is survived by her husband, Richard, sister Irene Murray, with whom she shared a close and cherished bond and three sons – Dick, Steve and Russ.

Mary adored her 32 grandchildren, great- grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren, each of whom brought her much pride and happiness.

Mary Evelyn Anderson’s legacy of resilience, hard work, strength and love will live on through the many lives she touched. She will be dearly missed but never forgotten.

A celebration of Mary’s incredible life will be held on May 24, 2025, at 11AM at the Chapel Hill – Butler Funeral Home in Kansas City, Kansas.

For further information, please visit the two links.

Mary and Richard's life story:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DTonb8mhAKPPOF_AorDtxuOF3Is0uN0F/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=108727215477213247898&rtpof=true&sd=true__

FM 98.1 coverage of their 81st anniversary:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EHSY4ufL-2mP6DhGAd8jsVcsyP3EcxSl/view?usp=sharing__