Mary Louise Merritt

Mary Merritt, 93, of Unionville, Missouri, passed away at her home on Tuesday, June 20, 2023.  She had been in failing health.

Mary Louise Merritt was born in Chicago, Illinois, on May 1, 1930, the daughter of Clarence E. and Lydia Burt (Davis) Merritt.  She was reared in Wichita, Kansas, where she graduated from high school and attended college for two years. She married Maurice Lallement in 1952 and he passed away in 1954.  She worked as a secretary for an airline in Wichita. Mary married Fredric Platner in 1955 and spent the next several years with him as he moved from one naval base to another. She lived from coast to coast and north and south in the United States, all the while caring for five children.  Mary taught school briefly in Annapolis, Maryland. She married Barry Lindsey in 1975 and worked with him in the insurance business.

Mary was a well-loved grandmother.  She had a sweet and kind temperament and an indomitable spirit.  She liked to research both paternal and maternal ancestry and she liked history.  Mary liked to travel.  She was an honorary member of the Susies at Stephens College and attended First Church when she lived in Las Vegas.

Mary is survived by her children: Mary Gwyn (Tom)Keedy and Beverly Ballance both of Unionville, Missouri; Aaron (Rosa) Platner of Temecula, California; and Adrienne Pendergrass of Las Vegas, Nevada. Her six grandchildren are Elizabeth McKinley, Jay McKinley, Rebecca Petet, Michael Lotfi, Ryan Pendergrass, and William Pendergrass. Great grandchildren are Kaytlin McKinley-Jefferis, Jayson McKinley, Ellieana Pendergrass, Madison Pendergrass, Bellamy Petet, Henry Petet, and her great-great grandchild is Malcolm Jefferis.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents; a daughter, LeeAnn Platner; a sister, Wanita Merritt; and her husbands, Maurice Lallement, Fredric Platner, and Barry Lindsay.

Mary wished to be cremated with inurnment in Wichita.  Memorials may be made payable to Hospice of Northeast Missouri, PC Café and Resource Center or Putnam County Care Center and entrusted with Playle and Collins Family Funeral Home, 709 S. 27th St., Unionville, MO  63565.