Mary Genelle (Lawless) Weigel died March 23, 2022 at the age of 90. She is survived by her sister, Sister Delia Lawless of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, her children, Catherine Marie (Cathy) of North Kansas City and Peter Josef (Pete), and his wife, Amy, of Kirkwood, Missouri, along with much extended family. A Funeral Mass will be held at St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church on Monday, March 28th at 1:00 pm, with a graveside service at Resurrection Cemetery following the mass.
Mary was born on Mary 24, 1931 in Kansas City, Kansas. After graduating from Bishop Ward high school, she entered nursing school and attained her RN certification. She worked fulltime as a nurse up until she
met Joe Weigel in Mexico City on a vacation trip. They were married in 1956, after which she and Joe
moved to Kansas City, Missouri, raised their 2 kids, and remained married until Joe’s passing in May
2020.
For a woman who spent most of her life as a wife, mother, and part-time school nurse, Mary had a lot of
unique interests. When her children were in grade school, she volunteered as a “picture lady” at their
school, learning everything there was to know about Vincent Van Gogh and Mary Cassatt, and then
passing that knowledge onto her kids’ fellow students. In the early 1970s, she got her private pilot’s
license because she’d always wanted to fly a plane. If not for the 1973 oil embargo and accompanying
high fuel prices, she would have kept flying. She loved to travel and took many trips to Europe and the
Caribbean. She was always an avid bridge player and was in several bridge clubs over the years. She
wasn’t much of a sportswoman but did enjoy golf, which she & Joe could play together. She was quite
musical, playing the piano and organ when she was younger. And she sung in the St. Gabriel Church
choir up until about 2018. She enjoyed books and TV shows in the mystery genre, like Murder, She
Wrote.
After suffering with ill health for a few months, we hope Mary is reunited with her beloved Joe so they
can both play heaven’s back nine for all eternity. May she rest in peace. In lieu of flowers, donations can
be made to the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception (www.marian.org).
