Mary Amelia Ellis

Mary Amelia (Hieber) Ellis passed away peacefully Feb. 3, 2026. She was 92.

Born Jan. 13, 1934, in Lane, Kan., Mary spent nearly her entire life connected to the community she called home. She attended Lane schools, graduating with the Class of 1952, and Central Business College of Kansas, graduating in 1953. She lived a life shaped by family, faith, and steady work.

Mary married LaVerme Dean Ellis on Nov. 15, 1953, at the Lane Methodist Church. Prior to having children, Mary worked at Osawatomie State Hospital in Medical Records. They made their home east of Lane on the Ellis homestead, where they raised three daughters: Diana Lynn, Katherine Ruth and Nancy LaVerne. While her daughters were growing up, Mary served as a 4-H community and project leader, investing countless hours in mentoring young people and encouraging responsibility, practical skills, and service. Her steady guidance helped strengthen the fabric of the community, with impacts still felt through the generations she helped shape.

Later in life, Mary worked at Osawatomie State Hospital, in the Maintenance Office. She retired in 1999 after 25 years of service.

Mary lived a life marked by practicality, thrift and quiet steadiness. She was soft-spoken and thoughtful, known for saving and reusing nearly everything, especially the cottage cheese containers that often left her kitchen filled with leftovers ready to be sent home with family. She was rarely idle; quilting was a constant presence in her life. As a member of the Osa-Lane Stitchers Quilt Guild, she shared her skill and fellowship with others who valued the craft. Her quilts, carefully stitched and patiently finished, became deeply cherished family heirlooms.

Mary also found deep purpose in researching and preserving family genealogy. Driven by curiosity and a love of history, she carefully traced family lines, documented personal stories, and safeguarded the legacies of those who came before. She generously shared this work with younger generations, helping bridge them to their ancestors and ensuring that family stories would not be lost time.

Her faith was an integral part of her life, lived openly but without fanfare. She accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior as a young child and remained a faithful Christian throughout her life. Lived quietly but deeply, her belief was grounded in lifelong study of Scripture and expressed through steady service rather than outward display.

She was an active member of the Lane Methodist Church and later the Spring Grove Friends Church, serving at various times as a Sunday School teacher, pianist and treasurer. Church was both a place of worship and a center of community.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents; her younger brothers, John and Don Hieber; her daughter, Diana; her grandson, Joshuah Bartlett; and her husband, LaVerme.

Survivors include two daughters, Katherine Dunn and Nancy Ellis-Grimwood; grandchildren Jeremy Bartlett, Garrett Grimwood, Harrison Grimwood, Ashley Dunn, Morgan Dunn and Kasey Dunn; great-grandchildren Jouhuah Drake, Michaeluah Bartlett, Coltaun Drake, and Jaxon Grimwood; and great-great-grandson Theodore Drake; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

Mary will be remembered for her quiet strength, her steady presence and the peace she carried into the lives of those around her.

A special thank you to the compassionate staff of Homestead of Ottawa, KS, and Faith Home Health of Overland Park, KS, who provided loving care and helped shepherd Mary into eternal life.

Services are scheduled 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, at Lane United Methodist Church, 425 Oak St., Lane.

Memorial contributions may be made to Lane United Methodist Church in Mary’s memory.

To share a memory of Mary or to leave a special message of condolence for her family, please visit the Guestbook below.