ERIE — Mary Hines, 72, of Erie passed away at 6:35 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, after a courageous and painful battle with cancer, solidifying her as the ultimate fighter.
Mary was born on April 25, 1952. She graduated from Erie High School in 1970. She then graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in education.
She married Richard Hines on Aug. 28, 1971. She raised three beautiful daughters (Tracy, Trisha and Taryn), eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Mary’s family was her life. By her example, she tried to instill the virtues of hard work, honesty and integrity. Mary taught hundreds of students at Erie High School for over 42 years. She retired from Erie High School in May 2014 in hopes of traveling with her husband, Richard, and visiting her grandchildren. Shortly after retirement, her grandchildren Avery and Cruz were born. She picked up Avery after school and would often travel to Shawnee to watch Taryn’s four children.
She loved to travel. She and Richard were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to travel to many countries throughout all the world’s continents. They enjoyed these trips with old friends and made many new friends along the way. In addition, they were able to go on many adventurous travels such as trekking the Inca trail in the Peruvian Andes, several African safaris following wild jaguars in the Argentina Pantanal, whale watching excursions in the Mexican Sea of Cortez, Iceland and Alaska, seeing Komodo dragons in Indonesia and many other adventures in remote areas such as the Amazon, Central America, Tibet, Australia, Antarctica, the Arctic Circle and China.
Mary loved supporting her family. If there was an event that someone in her family was a part of, she did everything in her power to be there. She loved supporting her grandchildren, nieces and nephews at ball games, performances, recitals, graduations and any academic events. She loved watching her children grow and develop, especially in educational environments.
Mary also loved to host family gatherings. She was a great hostess and a wonderful cook.
Mary served on the board and also was the president of the Parsons Area Community Foundation for several years. She founded the Erie Pride and Youth Pride Organizations, which had a mission of improving the Erie community. The Pride organization received many state-wide awards under her guidance. She was an active 4-H parent and served as the youth leader for many projects. Mary helped lead the biannual Erie school reunion. For many years, she was the yearbook teacher for Erie High School. Mary worked diligently on the Erie Federated Church Directory and Memorial Committee.
Survivors include her husband, Richard, of the home; three daughters, Tracy Gilmore (Wayne) of Parsons, Trisha Ahring (Trevor) of Garden City and Taryn Pierce (Chance) of Shawnee; eight grandchildren, Bridgette Gaona (Carlos), Luke Gilmore, Zachary Gilmore, Kynadie Pierce, Briggs Pierce, Avery Gilmore, Cruz Pierce and Rush Pierce; two great-grandchildren, Victoria Gaona and Jordan Gaona; her in-laws, Dorothy and Lee Springer; her brother, Donnie Dillinger; brothers-in-law, Dale Springer (Judy) and Chuck Springer (Debbie); a sister-in-law, Joann (Lee) Vogts; as well as many nieces, nephews and cousins whom she cherished.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Lloyd and Sarah Dillinger; her brother, Larry Dillinger; her grandson, Nathan Gilmore; her great-grandson, Anthony Gaona; and nephew, Eric Dillinger.
The service will be at 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22, at Erie Federated Church. Burial will follow in Lakeview Cemetery south of Erie. The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the church. The family will host a celebration of life and dinner at 5 p.m. Friday after the service at the Neosho Valley 4-H building in Erie.
The family suggests memorials to the Erie Federated Church, Parsons Area Community Foundation or Labette Health Foundation, and these may be mailed to the Pierce-Carson-Wall Funeral Home, P.O. 182, Erie, KS, 66733.
