Mary Kathleen Lindsay
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Mary Kathleen Lindsay (aka Mokie) the daughter of D. Jerome and Susie Weaver Lindsay was born in Emporia, Kansas, November 22, 1947, and passed October 18, 2023, spouse of George A. Harris in Kansas City, Missouri. Raised in Madison in a musical family and being gifted with a beautiful soprano voice, Mary’s youth was filled with melody and song. Mary and George met in Topeka, Kansas in 1978 and married in 1987. Mary worked at the children’s hospital at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka while George was a professor at Washburn University. She was loved by sister Donna Willard, brother-in-law Lynn Willard, her extended family, with nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews in Texas and New Mexico and multitudes of friends. Mary was a special friend to George’s disabled daughter Jennifer. She learned sign language to be able to talk to Jennifer, and she created sign language word games that were a fun way to teach Jennifer new words. Mary was a clinical social worker until retirement. She was passionate in her pursuit of social justice, serving on the board of the League of Women Voters, the Unitarian Universalist Church, and other organizations. She personified kindness and compassion. George often joked that Mokie was the only person who could have half a dozen best friends and still make her husband feel that he was really THE best friend. George and Mary hosted foreign exchange students from Brazil, Norway, Germany, and Costa Rica. These students, now adults, remain a major part of their lives. George and Mary traveled extensively to see these special people and their families and as well took adventure travel to many parts of the globe.
So sorry to hear about Mary’s passing. In school she was always funny and happy and nice to be around even as a underclass man .Prayers to the family.
My heart goes out to you. I had not seen Mary in many years, but will always remember her beautiful voice and how sweet she was to all of us in Madison. May her memory be a blessing.
Much love.
So sorry to hear about Mary. She was such a sweetheart. May God lift your sadness and remind you of your many happy memories of her life.
I love you, Aunt Mokie.
I miss and love you so much, Mokie. Your social justice inspired me to advocate for everyone. I hope I can make you proud.
I love you so so so much.
My heart goes out to Donna and Lynn. Way too young! I am lifting prayers for you and the family.
I was a cheerleader with Mary and she was lovely, as an undergraduate she showed me many kindnesses. May your fondest memories bring you peace .
I have fond memories of Mary as she was so much fun to be around, even though she was two years older than I and thus an “upperclassman”. My brother Keith was in her class and told me several times over the years that he always considered Mary one of his best friends. My condolences to George, Donna and Lynn and all her family and friends. May she rest in peace.
Thank you, Mary, for your friendship. We had many fun and interesting discussions about books, politics, social issues, the coyotes in the back of our building, your favorite bird (bluebird), movies — I could go on and on. You teased and were teasable, with a smile and a quick laugh. It was always enjoyable to engage with your sharp mind and ready wit. And in almost every presentation to our little community, you were often the first out of the gate with questions. I’m missing you, Mary.
Such an incredible loss to George, her family and her great multitude of friends. I will miss her greatly.
Yes Mary we were working well Together as co-chairs of a Verona Hills committee. The short time we worked together I learned a great deal from you. You were also my next-door neighbor who I often called upon. It was great knowing you Mary I wish we had more time.
Mary’s social conscience and activism was an inspiration to me. She was a beautiful soul and a fearless warrior. She will be missed
Mary was uniquely Mary. Her advocacy, sense of social justice, and focus inspired many of us. I will miss her at each event/action I’ll attend for the rest of my life.
Prayers for your family Donna
So sorry to hear about Mary’s passing.
Prayers to the family.
We’ll always remember Mary for her kindness, compassion and willingness to pursue political causes for the social justice. What a great example of putting your beliefs into action. And she was lots of fun! We’ll miss her at the tennis get togethers. Our condolences to our dear friend George and family.
I miss you Mary! Thanks for being a good friend .
It is with a heavy heart that I am writing this in memory of my best friend forever (BFF). The obituary tribute is concise, but it does capture the essence of Mokie’s kindness, compassion and generosity. To know Mokie was to love Mokie. It’s hard for me to grasp that I cannot still pick up the phone and call her any time, any day, and she will be there for me. She always has been since 1975. She offered her home in 1978 to my husband, Jim, and I for a pause before going to the hospital to deliver our daughter. She was there in the waiting room until the blessed event and was present for Suzanne’s first steps. She quickly became “Aunt Mokie.” Her activism and work for the League of Women Voters was tireless. Moke was on a mission to help make this world a better place. I can only imagine what this loss is like for George, her beloved husband and Donna, her beloved sister. Planting trees as a tribute to Mary seems very fitting, as Mary was indeed a “tree person.” She will always continue to be with me as my BFF
Our thoughts and prayers are with George and all family members. I miss my conversations with Mary.
I will always remember her sweet smile and contagious wonderful energy.
My heart is broken at losing Mary. I can’t even imagine how hard it must be for George, Donna, and Lynn! She was such a lovely, caring person. We did not talk often, but when we did our discussions were special. Her concern for social justice is far too rare these days. The last time we talked was after Keith’s death. i could not have imagined that this would be the last time. I will treasure my memories of Mary always. My heart and prayers go out to her family at this awful time.
Mary,… While I only got to see you at our infrequent tennis gatherings, I always looked forward to spending time with you. Your sweet and loving disposition and infectious laugh made our get togethers that much better. You leave the world a better place than you found it, and we will all miss you very much.
Thinking of you, George! Mary was an awesome friend to my parents for so many years. Her loss is felt, and our love goes out to you and her other loved ones. I will always remember her great laugh 🙂
There are many things to love about Mary. Her extraordinary love, energy and dedication to social justice and her love of human kind in general were among her most admirable characteristics. We will miss her loving kindness and friendship.
After we left Kansas, our opportunities to interact with George and Mary became more limited than we would have liked. But across the four decades we have vivid memories of Mary’s infectious laugh as well as her warmth, compassion, and commitment to advocacy. It is difficult to imagine her gone. Our thoughts are with you, George
I am SO sorry to learn of your loss, George. Mary was unwaveringly kind, sweet, classy and compassionate of others. She was a joy to have as a partner at Psychiatric & Family Services, as she always was a hard worker for her clients, very thoughtful about mental health care and trends, and an attentive & perceptive business partner. And I always admired her social activism so much. We have lost a truly great lady.
George, I am so sorry you have lost your precious mate and fellow adventurer in life. Years ago, we met several times – she was kind and caring. Mary and Harry will be frolicking in heaven together.
Mary was a good friend to many of us and a wonderful asset to many, many social justice causes.
I especially associate Mary with social justice documentaries. She was the person who inspired many of us to show and discuss documentaries on a weekly basis for a number of years at All Souls UU Church. My last conversation with Mary was looking at a box of some of the documentaries we had shown some years ago and deciding that we should show many of these again – that there was still much work needing to be done. I was looking forward to the opportunity to again work on a project with Mary. She will be greatly missed – but will be remembered by all of us that she had encouraged and inspired.