Mary Elizabeth Wilkinson

Mary Elizabeth (Stritzinger) Wilkinson, 91, of Overland Park, KS, passed away on Wednesday, November 17. Mary was a loving and devoted wife, mother and grandmother. The three pillars of her life were family, faith and work. She as the youngest child of Charles (Karl) and Louisa (Csitkovits) Stritzinger, and was born on March 7, 1930, in Topeka, KS. She graduated from Hayden High School and Clark’s Business School. She worked as a secretary in the Shawnee County Assessor’s Office in Topeka. Later she was a secretary for the Sunflower Group, Catholic Community Services and the Mount Carmel Wilhelmina Gill Multi-Service Center in Kansas City, KS. She finally retired in January 2017 at 86 years of age. Mary was a long-term member of Queen of the Holy Rosary Church where she had served as lay minister, sacristan, and secretary of the Queen’s Ladies. She was a member of St. Barbara’s Circle and of the Daughters of Isabella, Circle 503 in Topeka, KS.

She married Gene Wilkinson on October 14, 1961, and they were married for 58 years until his passing in June 2019. As newlyweds, they moved to the Kansas City area and eventually settled in Overland Park where they welcomed three daughters. Mary was a hard worker who enjoyed caring for her family, tending her garden and reading. She loved flowers, cats and baseball. Her love of baseball started with the Topeka Owls, and later came to include the Kansas City Royals. She made delicious brownies and holiday cookies that she shared with neighbors, co-workers and friends. She was a talented cake decorator and made beautiful cakes to celebrate special occasions. It was important to her to remember loved ones’ birthdays and anniversaries with a card and a note. She was chauffeur, seamstress, teacher, cook, cheerleader and homework helper to her daughters. She stressed the importance of education and saw each of her daughters earn at least one college degree. She was a strong, steady and reliable source of advice, encouragement and motivation to her family.

Mary loved time with her grandchildren. She spent many evenings and weekends babysitting her eldest grandson, Davin. Together they enjoyed walking to the park and hunting for wild strawberries growing along their route. She was a great bedtime story reader—and sometimes put herself to sleep before Davin! She was “Mom Mom” to Davin, Joshua, Julian, Owen, Laura, Oscar and Kevyn. She also leaves behind her daughters Nancy (Mike), Lisa and Gina (Luis). She will be missed by her niece, Margaret, and nephews, John and Mike. She was very fortunate to have kind neighbors and a number of close friends that she counted as family. She was preceded in death by her husband, Gene; her parents and her siblings, Louisa, Rose and Charles.

Services will be on Wednesday, November 24 at Queen of the Holy Rosary Church, 7023 W. 71st Street, Overland Park. Visitation will be at 9:30 a.m. and the funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Burial will be at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Topeka, Kansas at 1 p.m.

We appreciate the support of the staff of Glenwood Village of Overland Park and Advanced Home Health and Hospice. Memorial donations can be made to the Queen’s Fund at Queen of the Holy Rosary Church or to Mount Carmel Redevelopment Corporation - Wilhelmina Gill Multi-Service Center, 1130 Troup Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas 66104.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.mcgilleyhoge.com for the Wilkinson family.