Mary Belle Selders Gould

Mary Belle Selders Gould, “100”, went to Heaven, Christmas morning 2011. Some of you may remember the famous Wolfermans gourmet grocery store. Mary Belle worked at the one located on the Country Club Plaza on the corner of 47th and Wyandotte which now is home of Commerce Bank. Mary Belle was the switchboard operator at Wolfermans in the late 1920’s and early 30’s. Customers would call in to hear her friendly voice say, “Order Please.” She took their grocery order. A young man by the name of Gould worked in the produce department. They later married and had two daughters, Carol and Sherron.

Born in Chicago on December 9, 1911, to Michaline and Thomas Selders, Mary was the second eldest of eight children: Joe, Ida, Ben, Lola, Daniel, Allan and Myrtle. The following April 1912, the “Titanic” sank and then in the next two years New Mexico and Arizona became states. In 1914 the war that was to end all wars, WWI began and the United States entered the war in 1917. In 1915 The RMS Lusitania sank. The war ended in 1918 when Mary Belle was seven years old. And when she was nine years old in 1920 the first radio broadcast happened in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. By then the family was living in Kansas City.

She attended Maccochaque elementary school (pronounced Mack-a-jack). The school was part of a land grant by the Shawnee Indians to the State of Kansas. It was on 43rd Street and Rainbow Boulevard. 43rd Street ran straight east to Old Westport. After grade school she went on to Westport Junior High.

At the age of 14 Mary Belle worked at Jano’s Bakery on 47th Street. Family and friends tell how she used to bring home cakes the baker would give her at the end of the day and give them to neighbors and family. During her lifetime many great events occurred and also tragic ones. The great depression occurred in 1929. By then she had quit school like so many and was working fulltime at Wolfermans to help her family.

After Mary Belle’s marriage in 1932 at the Westport Presbyterian Church she became the epitome of the traditional homemaker of the 30’s and 40’s. (Wearing her Nellie Don dresses) She enjoyed entertaining and was a wonderful cook and hostess as were her Mother Mayme Selders and Father. Her Dad, T.B. Selders was a professional chef for the railroad and Chef at Chillicothe College in Missouri. During her homemaking years she took up crocheting, knitting, and embroidering. Also, she was an artist and painted beautiful watercolor flowers. She enjoyed bridge and played with her friend Lucy Wornall at the Wornall Home, which since then has become a Historical site in Kansas City.

After the war Mary Belle had the opportunity to learn golf and became a very good golfer. She played in many tournaments, including the Trans Mississippi, the Kansas State and Missouri State. She always enjoyed being able to play at her home club of Indian Hills, which at the time was just a small white-framed building. Most recently Ray surprised her with an autograph of Golf Professional Tom Watson who wrote, “Mary Belle, all my very best.” She really enjoyed sharing it with everyone that stopped by.

Still involved in volunteer work she was a member of the Women’s City Club and through them did volunteer work with the School for the Deaf at KU Med Center working with deaf children. She was always actively involved in church: Westport Presbyterian, Roanoke Presbyterian, in the early years, Village Presbyterian during the middle years and now as a member of Colonial Presbyterian Church. When she visited Colonial Church with Carol and Ray one Sunday she said, “Carol, this church is alive with the Holy Spirit.” That is when she decided to join Colonial. She was a beautiful example of a Christian woman who read the Bible daily along with many devotional books.

After her marriage ended, she relied on her great faith for strength. She always said, “God has guided me every step of the way.” In order to support herself and daughters she immediately joined the work force at a time when women were still mostly “in the home.” She went to work in retail. She worked for the “Olga” Co. and flew all over the country going to major department stores introducing the new fabric invention “Lycra.” Her picture would be in the newspaper with the store advertisement inviting people to come and meet Mrs. Gould, Personal Rep. In later years she liked to tell how she had to make her own plane and hotel reservations and travel alone at a time when women were not doing that. During her working years M.B. never had to apply for a job, as someone would always approach her to come to work for them. In the early days she worked for “PetePotter” one of the first shops in Prairie Village. It was a lovely ladies dress shop and she would be in charge of their fashion shows, and training women to model. She was assistant manager of Ladies Dresses at Sears on the Plaza. She helped open the “Marge Taylor Shop” and managed the upscale ladies boutique at 333 West Meyer Boulevard. She was then approached by Woolf Brothers on the Plaza to start a fur department for them. She took on the challenging job of learning all about furs and opening an outstanding fur department at Woolfs on the Plaza.

Then in the early 70’s, Don Gerhardt, invited Mary Belle to join the Gerhardt Fur Co., which was started by Don’s father years ago. She enjoyed a long and fond relationship with the Gerhardt family, working fulltime until she was 82 and leaving only because the Gerhardt’s decided to retire and close the store. After retiring she stayed active in her circle at church. She enjoyed traveling to visit her daughter Sheron and family in Albuquerque, San Diego, Sacramento, Ontario (Los Angeles), and San Antonio. Trips to Chicago and Dallas for great nieces and nephews weddings were grand times for her with the Woods, Tomazins and Hedricks families. She joined a line dance class, which she enjoyed with her sister-in-law, Esther, for a number of years. Her grandchildren and greats were a true joy and pleasure. She would never miss a birthday or Holiday with Carol and Ray and the grandchildren. Before retiring she often drove many miles (Emporia, Ft. Scott) to be with them and return to KC the next day to go to work. A special highlight was flying to Washington, D.C. when Ray was working there. We showed her a whirlwind good time in our Nations Capital. Her last long distance trip was with Carol and Ray to Austin, Texas for the wedding of Sheron and Dave’s daughter Katy and Tom. She had a wonderful time dancing at the reception almost 98 years old!!

Mary Belle and all her brothers and sisters celebrated with their parents Michaline and Tom on their 50th wedding anniversary in 1959. As siblings went on before her: Joe (Lenore), Ida (Carl Fessler), Benjamin (Esther), Allan, and Myrt, special events such as joyful family reunions at Margaret and Ray Fesslers’ home became even more meaningful with her remaining immediate family members: Sweet brother Dan and wife Millie, Loving Sis Lola (Hedrick) and Dear Sister-in-law Mabel (Allan) attending. She dearly loved hosting a beautiful pre-party with all the family the night before the reunions.

Taking great-grandchildren (they called her GG) to the pumpkin patch, Build-a-Bear, the Rain Forest Café, and Mely’s for ice cream were other highlights in her life. Grandbelle’s important loving gifts to the family were taking them out for fun dinners, which was one of her greatest pleasures after retirement. Always the eternal optimist it could be dark and rainy and she would say “I think the sun is trying to come out!” Or, on a cloudy day, “I see the blue peeking through!” And when it was all clear she would sing, “Blue Skies, Nothing but blue skies do I see!” She always had a giving spirit. When Carol and Ray were moving to Emporia with two little ones we mentioned we didn’t have a refrigerator and in her usual manner she said “take mine.” (Of course we didn’t) Other than her family, recipients of her generosity were City Union Mission of many years ago and Lifeline Orphanage (closed long ago). In later years her heart went out to St. Judes Research Hospital for Children and of course Colonial Church.

Mary Belle had many names. Mary, M.B., Aunt Mary, Sis Mary, M. Belle, Grandbelle, GG, GG Belle, Emma Belle, G Belle, Mother of Rose of Sheron and Other Mother (Dave). Ray started calling her Queenie and would always ask her if her crown was on straight and was it polished; then she became Texas Queen because she got a big kick out of saying, “Howdy Podner.”

Along with many loving cousins, nieces and nephews she was blessed to have six grandchildren, Mary K. (Greg Clinton), Brett Roberts (Elaine), Brad Roberts (Stephanie), Diane (Jerry Wojcicki), Jan (Brandon Williams), and Katy George (Tom Cupples); 26 great-grandchildren, Austin, Nathan (Sarah), Luke (fiancée Ashley), Natalie, Hope, Olivia, Stephanie, Charlotte, Jack, Sophia, Emelia, Ava, Seth Roberts; John, Ben, Sara, Samuel, Josh Clinton; Chase, Shane, Alex, Evan, Naomi Roberts; Tavish, Andria, Brandon Jr. Williams; and one great-great-grandchild, Ethan (Nathan and Sarah Roberts). She loved playing “tag” you’re it with the great-grandsons. She was always calling her granddaughters and great-granddaughters “Precious.”

Mother was a loving, precious, inspiring and faithful Christian woman! Dearly loved by her family and so many others. As a dear friend said, “God’s love flowing from Mary Belle touched more people than we will ever know!”

Sweet Mother, we miss you.

Memorial service will be held Saturday, December 31st, at 2:00 p.m. at Colonial Presbyterian Church, 95th and Wornall, Kansas City, Missouri 64114. Private family burial. Memorial contributions may be made to City Union Mission, PO Box 270107, Kansas City, Missouri 64127; Colonial Presbyterian Church; or St. Judes Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, Tennessee 38105. Condolences may be offered at www.mtmoriah-freeman.com. Arrangements under the direction of Mount Moriah & Freeman Funeral Home, Kansas City, MO.