Mary Therese O'Neill Coon

Mary Therese O’Neill Coon, 83, of Leawood was called home to our Lord on August 17, 2015. Born on Dec. 5, 1931, to Mary Ellen McGrath O’Neill and Daniel Thomas O’Neill in Chicago, Ill., she was a gifted child academically, graduating from high school at age 16. She went to college at DePaul University in Chicago to study accounting but left school to go to work after her father passed away when she was 17.

At 21, she decided to go to California to live. She found work at the Laguna Beach Post but also tried her hand at acting and modeling. After returning to Chicago, she met the love of her life, W.E. “Bill” Coon, and was married six months later in June 1956. She traveled with him on business, living in Colorado and Kansas City, where son Daniel was born. They moved to Westchester, Ill., where they had Tracy, Joseph and William.

In 1967, they moved to Leawood, where Mary devoted her time to lovingly raising her children, volunteering and playing bridge. She was a gourmet cook, a voracious reader, and an expert crossword-puzzle solver, and she loved theater and travel. She had a deep faith and was a member of Cure of Ars Catholic Church. She was a beautiful woman inside and out, and she will be greatly missed.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Bill of 55 years, and brother William D. O’Neill. Survivors include children, Daniel (Muriel) Coon, Tracy (John) Nohe, Joseph Coon, and William Coon; grandchildren Trevor (Meg) Nohe, Spencer (Parker) Nohe, Philip Nohe, and Hugo Coon; great-grandchildren Ellis and Whitfield Nohe; and numerous in-laws, nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, August 22, at Cure of Ars Catholic Church, 9401 Mission Road, Leawood. Mass of Christian Burial to follow at 11:30 a.m. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Condolences may be left online at www.mcgilleystatelinechapel.com. Arrangements by, McGilley State Line Chapel, 12301 State Line Road, Kansas City, MO 64145, (816) 942-6180.