Ms. Mary Ann Burns

She was born February 4, 1934, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas to Iverson Lincoln Taylor and Anna Meeks Taylor, the third of three children.

She earned her Bachelor's in Education from Henderson State Teachers' College and moved to Kansas City in the 1950s to begin her teaching career. She met the love of her life, William J Burns, Jr. on a blind date. They were married on Easter,1957 and settled in Grandview, Missouri.

In the 1970s, she pursued her Master's in Deaf Education at KU while raising her sons, Paul and Bill. She taught Montessori in Prairie Village before taking a job with the Grandview School District. She was certified for Learning Disabilities education and subsequently worked with Shawnee Mission Schools as a Learning Specialist to develop individual education programs for special needs students. She finished her career teaching special needs students at St Agnes Catholic School.

She and her husband volunteered at the Liberty Memorial for many years, even after her husband, Bill’s passing in 2014. They were both active with the Korean War Veterans' Association and she served as Chaplain for the Olathe chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, from 2010 to 2016.

Her Christian faith was the center of her life. She was a member of St Matthew United Presbyterian Church in Grandview for forty-four years, transferring her membership to Oak Hills Presbyterian after she was widowed, where she was affectionately known as "the Donut Lady."

She is survived by two sons, Paul Alan Burns and William Taylor Burns; daughter-in-law Rebekah (Pershica) Burns; two grandchildren, Kaelyn Anna Charlotte (Kacey) Burns and William C (Cody) Burns, granddaughter-In-law Megan (Miner) Burns and one great granddaughter, Arabella Nicole Burns, born on June 2, 2021.

A memorial will be held at McGilley & Frye Funeral Home Chapel, 105 E. Loula St., Olathe, Kansas 66061 at 10am, Friday, June 11. Graveside service immediately following at Floral Hills Cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri.