Sarajane Coatney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, 25 September 1940. She was the eldest of two born to William Edward “Ted” Coatney and his wife, Vivian Hazel PORTSCHE, Coatney. On 11 December 1959, in Lincoln, she married Richard Lee Mann. They came to Kansas City in the summer of 1961 and shared two boys, Richard Lee Mann II and David Jonathan Mann. On 02 September 1971, Sarajane became a widow; left alone with two young boys. Later she met John Harley Stanton, a widower with two young girls of his own to care for, Kay Linda Stanton and Karen Sue Stanton. In Gladstone, Missouri, 19 July 1975, John Harley Stanton and Sarajane COATNEY Mann, were married. Suddenly, she was the wife of a TWA instructor, who often traveled out of town, and a mother to four children. It was an ‘active’ household in which to grow up, I assure you. On 03 January 1995, in Smithville Missouri, John died quietly in his own home, leaving Sarajane a widow for a second time.
My mother moved to Las Vegas Nevada in the early 2000s and stayed about a decade, returning to Kansas City around 2015. When she returned, the signs of dementia were clear. She had increasing difficulty taking her medications regularly, or properly. Soon she was robbed of the ability to make her own choices, regarding her daily life. She was moved into a care facility in the summer of 2018.
In the last few months, she was increasingly confused, lonely, depressed, and downright angry about her situation. She missed my dad terribly, and with the dementia, she was in a perpetual state of grief, frequently thinking he had just passed away recently, not realizing it had been nearly twenty five years. When I would visit, I would often find a packed suitcase sitting by her door. When I asked her about it, she’d reply, “I’m waiting for your dad to come and pick me up, unless you’ve run all the gas out of the car again”.
My mother had the love and devotion of two husbands, four children, ten grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. I make this post, merely to inform those people who, otherwise, might not know. I do not grieve for my mother. She is no longer confused. She is no longer in pain. She is no longer lonely. She is finally, ‘finally’, with my dad again, and that thought pleases me a great deal.
She leaves four children: Kay Linda STANTON, Burnos, (Parkville, MO), Richard Lee Mann II, (Salena Marie, Excelsior Springs, MO), Karen Sue STANTON, Stadler, (Rick, Topeka, KS) and David Jonathan Mann, (Troy, IL). She leaves ten grandchildren: David Lee Burnos, Jr., (Palmer, AK), Andrew John Burnos, (Parkville, MO), Hazelmarie Alena Rosina Mann, Isaac David William Daniel Mann, Coatney John Thomas Arthur Mann and Vivian Esther Alice Lucille Mann, (all of Excelsior Springs, MO), Gregory Paul Stadler, (Jordie, Salt Lake City, UT), Amanda Ruth Marie STADLER, Andrews, (Tom, New Ulm, MN), Allen Joseph Mann, (Leigh, San Diego, CA) and Jackie Lynn Mann, (Chicago, IL). She also leaves three great grandchildren: Brantley Alexander Claude Mann, Eleanor Daphne Mann and William Michael Amschler Andrews.
Thank you all, for your warm thoughts, your well wishes, your concern, and for your love. Our entire family appreciates it very much.
