Sandra Jean Ousley

Sandra Jean Ousley (“Mema”) passed away on January 8, 2014 at her home in Harrisonville, Missouri, where she lived with her daughter, Lana and son-in-law, John Staponski.  Born in 1937 in Kansas City, Missouri, she was 76 years old.  She was surrounded by her children and grandchildren as she took her final breaths.

She is survived by her children, Samuel and wife Norma Meier, Lana and husband John Staponski and Craig and wife Hope Marshall.  Her grandchildren include Chase, Morgan, Sara and husband Josh Henderson with great-grandchildren Jacquelynn and Rylee, Troy and wife Stephanie Staponski, Dakota, Brittney and husband Kenneth Dickerson with great-grandchildren Nathaniel and Audrey, Phoebe and Liam.  She joins her first born, LaDonna, in heaven.

Sandy was a spunky and witty lady who didn’t have an unkind bone in her body.  Loved by all, she was generous, understanding, and dependable.  As a giver of advice, a shoulder to cry on, and the keeper of secrets, she played an irreplaceable role in her family’s lives.

She loved many things in her life, but nothing more than her family.  As a woman with very specific taste in both food and activity, some of her other favorites included a cold glass of iced tea with lemon and lots of ice or a good cup of coffee in a dainty cup.  She loved her boiled shrimp, thin tortilla chips with salsa and you could always find candy by her chair.  She loved all things cinnamon and caramel and made the world’s best sugar cookies with her daughter each Christmas.

Her day wasn’t complete without her soaps and a good mystery book to help her wind down each night.  On weekends you could find her playing cards in the kitchen and making mashed potatoes with roast or anything that required a lot of butter.  She was a lover of all animals but had a special place in her heart for cats.  We’d like to think she’s watching us from a rocker, cat on her lap and book in her hand.  She’ll be missed by all and never forgotten.