DEATHS

AND OBITUARIES

Mary Avery

Services for Mary Ellen (Smith) Avery, 75, who died Monday in Wichita, will be scheduled later.

Born Dec. 11, 1948, in El Reno, Oklahoma, to Albert Marion and Hazel Mae (Overholser) Smith, she lived in Nebraska and Texas, before moving to Peabody in 1958.

She graduated from Peabody High School in 1967 and married Shreves Avery on June 2, 1967.

After moving to Wichita, she graduated from St. Francis School of Radiology in 1969 and worked at St. Francis Hospital as an X-ray technician and in several doctors’ offices.

In 1975, the couple moved to Peabody. She continued to work for clinics in Wichita and at Hillsboro’s hospital before retiring in 2014.

A longtime Girl Scout leader, she also was a board member for Peabody Main Street and Sunflower Theater Group and spent several terms on the school board and Marion County planning and zoning commission. 

Survivors include her husband, brother Albert Smith Jr., daughters Maranda Avery and Gina Jacobs, and two granddaughters. Sister Anna Bahre preceded her in death.

A memorial has been established with Peabody Senior Center.