Mary Helen Weed (Sutter)
Our mother Mary Helen (Sutter) Weed passed away on November 9, 2023. She was born on February 22, 1932 to Andrew and Sophie Sutter in Athens, Wisconsin. She was the sixth of seven children, brothers George, Andrew, Eddie, Robert, James and sister Evelyn.
Mom worked at the drug store during high school and went to the Catholic school that was just two blocks from her home, going to Mass with her grandmother every day. In high school she enjoyed band playing the snare drums.
After high school she and a friend moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and that is where she met Jack Weed. They were married on March 29,1954 at 5 a.m. before Jack shipped out. When Jack got out of the Navy, they traveled back to Kansas to live in a very small trailer in the backyard of Jack’s parents’ home.
She did ironing and babysitting. She also worked at night at the Levant Nursing home as a nurse’s aide for several years until she got the opportunity to become a cook at the Brewster School. She started cooking in the 1974-75 school year and cooked there till 1995. She loved that job and all the kids. When she retired from the school, she became a breakfast attendant at Holiday Inn Express for several years meeting and becoming friends with returning customers and their families.
She moved to Colby after being in Levant for several years after Jack died. She missed Levant and looking out the back kitchen window watching the beautiful sunsets and the storms coming from Colorado. Several tornadoes were watched out that window.
She loved to quilt and several of us have quilts she made. She continued to quilt at the museum and help with bingo at the nursing homes. Sneak cheating on Sudoku and crossword puzzles, playing Barbies with the daycare kids and grandkids was always a good time. As her health failed her, she moved in with Dwight and Susan in December of 2021.
She was a member of several organizations Thomas County RSVP, VFW Woman’s Auxiliary, Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Young at Heart Singing Group and Senior Shufflers.
She was preceded in death by her parents; in-laws Bessie and Milburn Weed; her husband Jack; sons, David and Chuck and brothers George, Eddie, Robert, Andrew and James.
Survived by her children, Susan (Dwight) Focke, Nancy (David) Ohlrogge, all of Colby and Michael (Michelle) Weed of Levant and daughter-in-law Mary Alice Weed, of Salina; grandchildren Britt and Amanda Focke, of Casper Wyoming, Ryan and Tiffany Stevenson, Selden, KS, Todd and Genevieve Ohlrogge, Eric and Valerie Ohlrogge; Donavon Ohlrogge and Josh Weed, all of Colby, Danielle, Scott City, Adam and Lydia Kirchman, of Salina, Andrew Weed, of Salina, and Jake and Ellie Sullivan, Wichita; 18 great-grandchildren and her sister Evelyn Eder, of Hayward Wisc.
A Memorial Mass will take place at 10:00 a.m., with a rosary prior at 9:30 a.m., Monday November 20, 2023, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Colby. Mass may be viewed on Youtube: Sacred Heart Catholic Parish Colby. Burial will take place at the Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery in Colby.
The family is requesting in lieu of flowers or plants a donation may be made to the Thomas County Community Foundation in honor of Mary’s life and sent in care of Baalmann Mortuary, P.O. Box 391, Colby, KS 67701. She selected the Darren Miller Memorial Food for Kids Fund at the Foundation. This fund is set up to help impact kids in Thomas County with food insecurities. Mary loved kids and would like her legacy to continue to support them.
For information or condolences visit baalmannmannmortuary.com.