Mary Lee Marvel Sanders, 97, passed away peacefully in her sleep on June 26, 2025. She was born in Valeda, KS on July 21, 1927, to George William and Gladys Anna (Moore) Marvel. Upon graduation from Labette County High School, where she was elected Senior Queen, she spent a year teaching at Richland School and taking classes at Coffeyville Community College before enrolling at Kansas State Teacher’s College and graduating in 1949. She then embarked on a teaching career that took her to Winfield, KS, Tucson, AZ, and Wichita, KS. She filled her summers with graduate studies at the University of Colorado and once driving to Alaska with a friend to deliver a car to the friend’s brother who was stationed there.
She married Dr. Milford Sanders in 1957 in Coffeyville, KS and they settled in Wichita, completing their nuclear family with a son and a daughter. She re-entered the workforce in the late 1970s at the Ablah Library at Wichita State University, retiring in 1992. She then moved to Overland Park, KS before moving to Lenexa, KS in 2005. She greatly enjoyed traveling with her cousins, attending grandchildren’s athletic events and concerts, baking cookies, and keeping her candy drawer well-stocked. She also enjoyed cheering for K-State basketball and football and attended many games.
Mary Lee was active in PTA, Cub Scouts, Brownie Scouts, Alpha Gamma Delta alumnae, the Architects Sunday School class at College Hill United Methodist Church in Wichita, John Knox Presbyterian Church in Overland Park, PEO, her bridge group, and various other activities.
She was predeceased by her parents, husband, brother Clair, and sister Beverly. She is survived by her son, Mike (Sheila), of Olathe, KS, daughter Ann Woodyard (Joe) of Overland Park, grandsons Brian (Sara), Overland Park, and David, Olathe, granddaughters Madeline Brownlee (Jeff), Denver, CO, and Meredith, Overland Park, and great-grandchildren Luke Sanders and Claire and Lydia Brownlee.
Services will be held at 1 pm on August 2, 2025 at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Kansas City, MO. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to Cross-Lines Community Outreach, 736 Shawnee Ave, Kansas City, KS 66105. https://www.cross-lines.org/how-to-help/donate.html