MARY KATHERINE MAYFIELD

1939 - 2015

MARY KATHERINE (WALSH) MAYFIELD Mary Katherine (Walsh) Mayfield, 75, Overland Park, Kansas passed away peacefully with her family by her side on January 13, 2015. Mary was born January 14, 1939 in Lincoln, Nebraska to Bernard Patrick Walsh and Alice Margaret (Miller) Walsh. Mary graduated in 1956 from Mercy High School, a private all-girl Catholic high school in Omaha, NE. Mary married Rodney Bruce Mayfield of Everton, MO on September 21, 1957. Graduating with distinction from the University of Kansas in 1977 (age 38), she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting. As an accomplished artist, a Plein Air artist, she considered herself a colorist. Using her preferred medium of soft pastels she painted with an abundance of color. Her palate also included oil and acrylic paint as well as some mixed media. Mary was a founding member of the MidAmerica Pastel Society serving on its first board of directors and later as its president. Mary served as a member of the Greater Kansas City Art Association as well as the International Association of Pastel Societies. She often spoke of the joy she received from spending time with her many friends in the art community. Mary's legacy of colorful, vibrant insight lives on through her life's work. Of her many accomplishments, a few of her proudest included teaching herself computer programming while setting up several complex relational databases long before shortcut "wizards" existed and she was proud of earning a college degree while commuting to Lawrence and continuing to work and raise a family and she was proud to celebrate her 50th wedding anniversary with family and friends. Mary's favorite travel destinations included Italy, England, Scotland, Ireland as well as Western United States, including a special stop at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. Mary was preceded in death by her parents and her only sister, Patricia Ann Schmidt (October 17, 2013) of Overland Park, KS. She is survived by her husband of 57 years and her two children and their respective families for whom she carried a "tremendous sense of pride and optimism for the success of human kind." Mary's two children include her daughter Margaret Ann "Peggy" (Mayfield) Boylan (husband William Boylan) who reside in Overland Park, KS and her son, Bruce DeWitt Mayfield (wife Elizabeth Mayfield) who reside in Prairie Village, KS. Mary's five grandchildren include Matthew William Boylan, MD and his wife Mariola Boylan and their two children (great- grandchildren) Zuzanna Mia Boylan and Adelle Veronica Boylan who reside in Northbrook, IL; Mary Margaret "Molly" (Boylan) Libera, JD and her husband Michael who reside in San Francisco, CA; Dewitt "Patrick" Mayfield who attends law school in Denver, CO; Emily Caroline Mayfield who attends college in Manhattan, KS and Alexander Robert Mayfield who attends college in Lawrence, KS. The family would like to thank the doctors, nurses and staff at the University of Kansas Hospital (Oncology) and Kansas City Hospice House who made her final journey full of peace. Funeral Services will be held at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, 6630 Nall Avenue in Mission, KS on January 24, 2015 at 3:00pm. Visitation and Celebration of Life Reception will be held immediately following the service at the church. Mary's cremated ashes will be interred at St. Michael and All Angels Church. "Mary, now pick up your easel and go paint heaven!"