Elizabeth Haynes Crain, beloved wife, mother, daughter, and sister, was born August 26, 1972, to Clarissa May (Mears) Haynes and Fred Haynes of Kansas City, Kansas. Elizabeth passed peacefully on July 26, 2026, surrounded by her family, after a courageous battle with esophageal cancer and liver disease.

Elizabeth grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, attending Kansas City Kansas Public Schools and graduating from Sumner Academy. She went on to Kansas State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences with a minor in Women’s Studies, became a proud member of Sigma Kappa sorority, and where she met the love of her life, Scott Allen Crain. Following their marriage on Valentine’s Day, 1996, Elizabeth returned to Kansas State University and completed a Master of Arts in Public Administration. During her graduate studies, Elizabeth served the Manhattan community through her work with The Crisis Center, Inc. in Manhattan, Kansas and The Women’s Center on the campus of Kansas State University — early expressions of a lifelong commitment to advocacy and service that continues to define her legacy.

Elizabeth built a meaningful career in service to others. She worked as a retail manager for Coach House Gifts and County Seat before becoming Director of Surgical Services for Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri. She later helped lead the Johnson County Health Department. In 2007, she made the joyful decision to step away from her professional career to devote herself fully to raising her children — a role she embraced with her whole heart. No mother loves or is more proud of her children than is Elizabeth of Isabel and Sam. Her positive influence on them will continue to impact the world through their actions for years to come.

Elizabeth was a fierce and independent woman who overcame extraordinary adversity in her life — surviving assault, abuse, addiction, cancer, stroke, and liver failure. She faced each battle on her own terms, and everyone knew she would stop fighting when pigs fly. Her strength was a quiet kind of heroism.

Elizabeth has a generous and expansive spirit. She is a staunch defender of women’s rights and the rights of all people, and she will be remembered for her social advocacy, her deep dedication to her friends and family, and her quiet but steadfast commitment to helping those in need. She finds meaning and connection in the natural world and in the energy that flows between all living things. She had a deep and abiding love for animals, which included fostering animals from the local shelter. The pets in her life were cherished members of her family.

Elizabeth is survived by her parents, Clarissa May (Mears) Haynes and Fred Haynes; her husband, Scott Allen Crain; her children, Isabel Mae Munrain (Bradley) and Samuel Jesse Crain; her sister, Georgeann Haynes; and numerous in-laws, nieces, nephews, and extended family who loved her dearly. She is also survived by her beloved dog, Rolls, and by Jax, the cherished grand-dog.

Elizabeth is preceded in death by her grandparents, Jane and George Mears and Marie and Willard Haynes, and her parents-in-law, Barbara Ann and Jesse Elmo Crain — and by her beloved animal companions: Barclay, Kenya, Molly, Maggie, Shep, Biscuit, Penny, Salem, and Rainbow.

Cremation has been effected and Elizabeth’s remains will be returned to the natural world and transformed into art for her family to cherish into the future.

A celebration of Elizabeth’s life will be held on August 1st from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the LongHouse Visitor Center at the Overland Park Arboretum, 9209 W. 179th Street, Overland Park, Kansas 66013.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly asks that donations be made to The Crisis Center, Inc. in Manhattan, Kansas in Elizabeth’s memory.