I just found out about Mary Today, Every once in a while I Google her name and look to see if maybe she's on Facebook, Well Today  I found her
I worked with her at Cessna Aircraft , And then I discovered that she lived just down the street from me on Market, Next to the Longfellow School where my kids went ,  Wow, were neighbors  !
 Yes Mary always had a smile on her face, anytime I needed help with reading a blueprint , figuring out  how a part went together or even borrowing a tool, she was happy to assist , many days when she felt bad she would still be friendly with a smile , She was a real sweetheart .
I read some of the stories on here and about her life, then pictures......Wonderful  memories  . BUT then  I recognized  one person.........I thought Who is that  ?Oh yes !!   I used to be a janitor at Bishop Carroll back in the 80's....and my family and I used to clean up the Football Field the next day after a game 
I believe its  David  i recognized  , gosh , I wished I would have known this while we worked side by side at our work bench , we could of told some good stories about Bishop Carroll 
     FAMILY , I'M SO SORRY TO HEAR OF HER PASSING AT SUCH A YOUNG AGE. , I'm 10 years older than her. 

My oldest sister Mary and I were ten years apart, but we were so close. We spent a lot of time together before life got in the way. She loved to play games and spend time with family. She loved to play Monopoly and she would always win lol. It was very hard to beat her at Monopoly, that was her game! Mary, Lucy and I would get together and have margaritas and play rummy, poker, yahtzee...lots of games. So many hours spent together...wonderful memories. Mary and I would go visit our mom together and play word games and dice with her. Mom loved us coming over. Mary deserved a lot more in life than she received, but it never turned her bitter. She always had a smile, a hug and an I love you ready to give to everyone. You went too soon Mary, and I'm having a really hard time accepting it. Last night I had a thought I should call you, like so many times before. And then I was like, oh right, I can't. I will miss you so much and I'll forever wish I had been able to spend more time with you the last few years. I love you big sis.❤❤

I was home from school on summer break and my Sister told me that she had bought me a ticket to a Christian concert she wanted to attend because Dad would not let her go without me. After Dad dropped us off at the Kansas Coliseum, Mary came clean that the tickets were for the Styx Mr. Roboto concert.  Mary knew that Styx was one of my favorite bands. I don't think she knew that Styx was my favorite band at the time. I was very surprised, excited, and I thought it was pretty clever that she was able to convince my dad that it was a Christian band.  It was also the very first rock concert and I got to attend with my sister. The concert was great. The atmosphere was…festive, smokey, smoke that didn't smell like cigarettes.  LOL.  It was quite an experience.

I attended preparatory high school seminary (grades 10 - 12) out of state. I was home during Christmas break and Mary wanted me to spend a day at school with her (Bishop Carroll) so that she could show off her seminarian brother. I was not very comfortable with the idea but I couldn't let her down by telling her no. That was so uncomfortable that I was never, ever going to do that again until I did it again the following year :(  The good thing was that Mary was happy and proud of her brother.

During our short time in California in 1976, we went with our dad to a laundromat. There was a Jack in the Box restaurant next door. Dad when and had himself a value meal while Mary and I watched stayed at the laundromat. We could clearly see him eating and that he didn't have anything for us. We were both in agreement that we didn't like that at all.

We were in an old truck on our way back home from a hike along the river outside the city. Dad had stopped at a filling station. I had my BB/Pellet gun with me. There just happened to be a hole in the passenger side floor where the engine compartment was exposed. I decided, out of boredom, it might be fun to shoot into that hole.  It turned out a short time later that my shot successfully wounded the radiator.  Mary was so worried for me because we both knew that I was in some trouble. My dad was able to get to a garage where the radiator was repaired. Besides some disapproving looks, Dad never said anything to me or punished me which was very much out of character. The only thing I can think of is that he privately thought that was hilarious.  Just a hunch. 

My earliest memory that includes Mary was when we lived on Elizabeth. We had family visitors bearing gifts.  I did not have any clean clothes and apparently was wearing one of my sister's shirts.  So, my dad made me stay in the bedroom while the visitors were there. I remember being quite upset. I don't recall who but I think it was Grandma Ferguson and one or more of my great aunts. If I remember it right, Mary and I were given a green and a red rocking horse.  On more than one occasion my Dad decided that our gift givers did not give to the correct children. My horse was re-gifted to my brother Christopher. That may seem entirely fine, but not to a four year old.

Mary and I loved playing dice. I remember a day we played for hours and I won every game. She refused to stop playing until she won, I couldn't stop laughing cause she was so determined until it got late in the day and we quit playing and then she finally said "ok, you are the bomb diggity". It was so funny-but she was the bomb diggity at rummy.
      I also remember her getting her first car, it was a nova. I would ride around with her and we laughed so hard cause she would make some of the funniest mistakes. It was so much fun with her in that car.
        Mary and I would go to the lake alot,we really had fun doing that. She would fish with me and we would go camping as well. When Barbara and Joan could get away they would come too. 
        Mary enjoyed the holidays. She loved baking cookies and had nuts in the shell, mints and baked seasond crackers. She was so happy at Christmas time....she really went all out for the kids.
         I miss my big sister so much. 
            From: Lucy Ferguson (little sis)

One of Mary's favorite things to do was to make strawberry cheese cake.
she'd buy all the ingredients and then clean the strawberry's slice them, add sugar and refrigerate them overnight. and man! I do miss them. My tummy doesn't much like cheese cake these days though, yet my taste buds still know all about Strawberry cheese cake for sure. Love ya Sis.

My relationship with my mom has been far from conventional. And I took way to long to reach out and let her know a few things, so I will put it here.
I will always admire her for her courage to do what was needed for me and my siblings. Now that I am a mom myself I can only imagine how heart breaking that was. But like a mother who loves her children she put us first.
I also wanted to let her know that I had a special memory of her that I look back on frequently.
It was Christmas when I was about 4 or 5. I got this beautiful doll. And I remember being so happy and her smiling at me. And I will never forget the love I felt then. I will always have a special place in my heart for my mom. Rest in peace mommy.