Mary L Story

Mary Luella Story (née Shoemaker), 106, of Grand Island, NE, died Friday, May 13, 2022, at CHI St. Francis Medical Center. A private family memorial service will be held at a later date. Burial will be at the Winston Cemetery in Winston, MO. Apfel Funeral Home is assisting the family. Online condolences may be directed to www.apfelfuneralhome.com.



Mary was born October 10, 1915, in Winston, MO to Everett Maulsby Shoemaker and Hattie Luella Shoemaker (née Downend). She grew up in Winston, MO on her parents’ “Hillcrest” farm, spending her youth among the animals she loved, up to and including Mary’s little lamb. Mary attended Northwest Missouri State Teacher's College in Maryville, MO, where she became a home economics teacher, teaching in St. Louis. She married Johnson Eugene Story on July 31, 1948, in Kansas City, MO, and moved to Cameron, MO, where they raised three children: Roger, Anita, and Carol. The family moved to Grand Island to seek better work for Johnson, a lawyer, in 1963, where they made their home. She remained active into her second century, helping raise her grandchildren and great grandchildren, only wishing that she could be more helpful. She was a member of the Methodist church.



She enjoyed making countless pies from the cherry tree in her yard, and her famous “never fail” cinnamon buns, to feed to her family and especially her grandchildren. Her ability to effortlessly produce a seemingly endless quantity of wonderful food astonished three generations of descendants and in-laws. Mary was always generous with sharing her storied history, from her youth riding in horse-drawn carriages with kerosene lamps, through the trials of the Great Depression, and on to the twenty-first century. She said the largest change in her life was the arrival of the school bus, but that cell phones were “boy-howdy.”



She is survived by her daughter, Carol of Grand Island, NE; daughter-in-law Linda of Bridgewater, NJ; grandchildren/partners: Devon and Amanda of Santa Clara, CA, Kate and Chris of Kearney, NE, and Alec and Andrew of New York, NY; and great-grandchildren: Helen and Elliott of Santa Clara, and Audrey of Kearney.



Preceded in death by husband Johnson, sister Catherine, and children Roger and Anita.