Mary Elizabeth Poland

Mary E. (Stenger) Poland, formerly of Kansas City, Mo., passed away on February 28, 2011, at the Lourdes-Noreen McKeen Residence in West Palm Beach, Fla. On Saturday, March 5, family and friends will gather at 9 a.m. at Christ the King Catholic Church, 85th Street and Wornall Rd., KCMO. The Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 10 a.m. Burial at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Survivors include her sons, William H. Poland Jr. (Anna), Houston, Texas, and John P. Poland, St. Louis, Mo.; son-in- law, Richard M. Sewell, Arizona; daughters, Susan Sappington (John), Clinton, NJ, and Paula Roemer, Palm Beach, Fla.; 12 grandchildren and one great grandchild. Mary was predeceased by husbands, Albert Hopper in Germany in 1944, and William H. Poland in 1985; and daughter, Mary Elizabeth Hopper Poland Sewell in 2000. Mary was born in St. Mary's, Kan. She graduated from Marymount Academy in 1941 and Pittsburg, Kan., College of Business. She had been employed as executive secretary to the President of Columbian Steel Tank, the director of Bowling Proprietors' Association, the director of the KC Chamber of Commerce, and Dodson Insurance Co. Most important to her were her large, extended family, lifelong friends, and her Catholic faith. She was a special minister of Holy Communion and a lector at daily Mass at Christ the King Church for many years. Mary and her husband, Bill, ensured that all of their five children attended Catholic schools from elementary through college years. Contributions may be made to the Lourdes-Noreen McKeen Residence, 315 South Flagler Drive, West Palm Beach, FL 33401 or to Christ the King Church, 8510 Wornall Rd., KCMO 64114 or to a charity of the donor's choice.