Lorraine "Lou" Marie Sole

Lorraine “Lou” Sole, Queen of eight bridge clubs, gracious cocktail party hostess, station wagon chauffeur of four kids, gardener and weed puller, flawless wardrobe wonder and best ever next door neighbor, quietly slipped into heaven in the morning, on February 4, 2018.

Lorraine Marie Hellige was born August 8, 1922 in Fort Madison, Iowa to Joseph Hellige and Helena Meyer Hellige. She weathered the depression with her siblings Kathleen and Gene. After high school in 1940, she took the train down to the “Big City” (Kansas City). She was picked up at Union Station and dined at the brand new Winsteads restaurant on the Plaza. She worked at TWA (Transworld Airlines) in ground communications. It was here that she met Don Sole who had moved to Kansas City after the war in 1945. They married at Redemptorist Catholic Church in 1949 and moved to the burbs to start a family. Craig, Brian, Eric and Kim remember a pretty great childhood with Colorado vacations every summer. Weekends of those early decades consisted of patio and barbeque entertaining, mowing the flawless bluegrass lawn, Boy Scout and Camp Fire Girl campouts and shopping for new school clothes. We were that ubiquitous family!

Mama Lou left an unforgettable impression with everyone she met. At 5’10” with striking silver hair she stood out in a crowd. She evolved into a restaurant quality chef belonging to various gourmet groups and dinner clubs with casseroles a specialty. The freezer was always filled for guests. Lou was a volunteer for Head Start when it was formed in the 60’s and she volunteered in St. Joseph’s Hospital Gift Shop for decades. At home the radio or TV was always on, a book or crossword puzzle next to her reading lamp. Friends would seek her advice on paint colors and designs. Mom was always getting dressed up for special occasions - dancing at the Olathe Naval Air Station and with the Leawoodite Dance Events, Leawood Women’s Club and Cure of Ars Catholic Church. You could smell those special occasions… Revlon lipstick, Estee Lauder Youth Dew and Johnny Walker Black. Her fortitude was amazing as she rehabbed two hip replacements and a new knee with very little complaint. She endured the loss of her baby Jeffrey in 1957, 2 beloved family dogs and a cat.

Lou leaves behind her loving husband Don of 69 years, her four children, Craig (Wayne Long) of Overland Park, Brian of Aspen, CO, Eric (Tanta Soubriet) of Barcelona, Spain, Kim Grantham of Leawood, KS, four grandchildren and three great-grandsons.

The family request that memorial contributions be in Lou’s name to Evergreen Community of Johnson County; 11875 South Sunset Drive #100, Olathe, Kansas 66061; (913) 477-8227; http://www.ecojc.org/

Funeral services will be held at Cure of Ars Catholic Church at 2:00pm on Sunday, February 11, 2018; 9401 Mission Road, Leawood, Kansas. Private interment at Resurrection Catholic Cemetery, Lenexa, Kansas.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.mtmoriah.net for the Sole family.