Esther Mae Parry

Esther Mae Grounds Parry, 89, of Westmoreland, KS, passed away Thursday, September 29, 2011 at the Westy Community Care Home. She was born on Easter Sunday, April 16, 1922 near Wakefield, KS, the youngest child of Joseph and Nettie (Sharp) Grounds. Esther graduated from Wakefield High School in 1940. She married John Elden Parry on February 12, 1941 in Wakefield. He preceded her in death in 2009. The first years of their married life was spent farming near Manhattan before moving to Westmoreland in 1948. Esther spent most of her life as a homemaker, raising her children. She was also a cook for the Westmoreland Schools for 10 years after raising her family. She is survived by her five daughters, Karen Horner and husband Seward, of Garnett, KS, Sharon Stebens of Topeka, KS, Janet Iotti and her husband Dr. Robert Iotti, of Manalapan, NJ, Jane Parry Shehi of Westmoreland, KS, Kathleen Lauer of Emporia, KS; one son, John Parry and his wife, Deborah, of Onaga, KS; nine grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. She was also preceded in death by three sisters, Emily Myer, Doris Grounds, Myrtle Diaz, and her brother, Joseph Grounds. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at the Stewart Funeral Home of Wamego. Burial will follow in the Westmoreland City Cemetery. Mrs. Parry will lie in-state beginning at 2:00 p.m. Monday at the funeral home, where family will greet friends during a visitation from 6:30 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Memorials are suggested to the Westy Community Care Home or to the American Heart Assoc., and may be left in care of the Stewart Funeral Home of Wamego, PO Box 48, 66547.