Mary Ellen Sheaks

is honored with a Brick from Susy Hammons, Judy McKenna Kruse, and Mickey Sheaks.

For Mary Ellen Sheaks: Our Mom

From Daughter Judy:
The best of mothers, she is always there for us. No matter how silly or crazy we were when we were growing up, she did her best to help us succeed. How many parties I planned and didn't start getting ready until people began to show up. Mom was always in the kitchen getting the food ready, doing doughnuts, making everyone feel welcome. When I went through a lemon meringue pie phase, Mom helped me get some pretty decent pies made.

She also supported us at school and out-of-school projects, Brownies and PTA, not her favorite way to spend time but she wanted us to have all the advantages We weren't necessarily grateful then. Mom was a willing chauffeur but I know it ticked her off when I wanted to sit in the backseat with my friends. The car pool to Southeast High School was really nuts from Forest Hills to Eastborough to Spring Acres, but our mothers made it happen because they loved us.

One of the best gifts my Mom gave me was encouraging me to learn to play bridge. It is a lifelong interest and challenge.

Later years found Mom picking and canning peaches (what a terrible job) and moving me from KU to Kansas City and delivering mattresses for all my roommates.

Eventually we grew up and learned to truly appreciate what a warm, supportive, funny, and wonderful Mother we have. She is interesting and always game to try new things. She has always been thoughtful for us, relatives, and friends. She makes the world a better place.

I love to be with my Mom and appreciate her wisdom. It was a lucky day for me when she became my mother.

From Daughter Susy:
I think my best memory is once when I was doing something questionable, she didn't rant and rave at me but simply asked me to look at the consequences. She accepted me as a lovable daughter despite my behavior, and of course, it changed my behavior.

I also use another situation often in my groups at the Women's Treatment Center. Once when I was pretty young (at 201 S. Chautauqua), she and I had a fight, and I went down in the basement and drew a picture of her and was throwing things at it when she walked in and saw me! I was terrified and she just turned around and went back upstairs. I asked her about it as an adult, and she doesn't remember but said she was probably sad about our argument.

Now in groups we draw a picture of something or someone that makes us angry and then we tape it up and throw balls of play dough at the picture a good way to express angry feelings without hurting anyone. We also go outside and throw clay pigeons at pictures taped to the back of an old abandoned hospital building on the grounds of Crawford County Mental Health. (That came from the Center for Holistic Health in Wichita.)

I also remember as a kid at 201 answering the phone for the "Wizard" and that was Mom. She would help the callers with questions about bridge.

Her love of painting, traveling, her energy, her creativity... I know that's where I got my love of color and patterns.

From Son Mickey:
She told me one time when I was little: ."NO matter what you do, we will always love you." With this kind of support you could take on anything. In our house there was always laughter. There was also always candy. When I think of my mother I think of a warm and loving person who let you know when you were wrong and then helped you be better. You could always count on her to be fair and generous. I treasure her wonderful paintings because I see a lot of her and a little of me in each of them.

July 28, 1998