Mary Ellen Stancil Keene

Born on July 22, 1941, in Sikeston, she was the daughter of the late Charles Jasper “C.J.” Stancil and Hattie Lorraine “Lorene” Davenport Stancil. She grew up in the small farming community of Dogwood, where she developed a lifelong love of farm life, animals—especially horses—and gardening, a passion passed down from her mother. She began riding horses as a child, later showed horses at local events, and joined area riders on an annual horseback trip to Current River. She graduated from East Prairie High School in 1959, where she led the marching band as drum majorette, and studied at Murray State University for a year in 1960.

In June of 1959, she married Jerry Bruce Greenwood, and was blessed with two children, Tonya and Jay. She later married Richard Lee Keene in June of 1977.

Mary Ellen was an entrepreneur at heart and never one to sit still. She worked in real estate as an agent at Dyer-Bussey Real Estate in the mid to late 1970’s, then opened her own women’s boutique, Mary’s Something Special, which she ran from the mid-1980s into the early 1990s. Never content with just one venture, she also raised cattle in Bloomfield, Missouri, from the late 1980s through the mid-1990s. In the early 2000’s, she brought her warmth to retail sales at a specialty gift shop, The Leaping Frog. Although retired, she loved providing seamstress services to the many local pageant contestants, especially after seeing all the smiling faces after they would try on their tailored dresses.

Her faith was a constant thread throughout her life. She was a member of Dogwood Methodist Church. After moving to Sikeston, she became a member of First Christian Church, and later in life, First United Methodist.

She leaves behind a large and loving family who will miss her dearly: her daughter, Tonya Hyde of Scott City, Missouri; her son, Jerry B. Greenwood, Jr. (Jay) of Columbia, Missouri; four grandchildren, Blair (Michael) Sadler of Sikeston, Alexandria (Chris) White of Blue Springs, Missouri, Chandler (Kyle) Oglesby of Brainerd, Minnesota, and Cooper Greenwood of Columbia; and seven great-grandchildren, Trace Sadler, Blaine Sadler, Rhodes White, Owen Oglesby, Morgan Oglesby, Khalyla Oglesby, and Hartley Oglesby.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her first husband, Jerry Bruce Greenwood, and her second husband, Richard Lee Keene.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, from 2:30 p.m. until the time of the funeral service at 3:30 p.m. at Dogwood Methodist Church in Dogwood, Missouri, with Pastor Danny Kuykendall officiating.

Pallbearers will be Mike Sadler, Trace Sadler, Blaine Sadler, Chris White, Kyle Oglesby, Cooper Greenwood, and Tom Pruett.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Heart Association at www.heart.org in memory of Mary Ellen Stancil Keene.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.nunneleefuneralchapel.com for the Keene family.