PAULINE M. MYERS

Pauline M. Myers, 97, formerly of Independence, Mo., died Monday, March 14, 2016. She was born Sept. 25, 1918, in Beardstown, Ill., to Robert and Mildred Howard. In 1946, she married Newton Lee Myers of Independence.

She had been a resident at Benton House of Blue Springs since July 2015.
Arrangements for cremation have been entrusted to the Cullen Funeral Home of Raymore. No services are scheduled but interment is planned for a later date at Woodlawn Cemetery in Independence.

Polly lived an extraordinary life, admired and dearly loved by her big family and many good friends. She was happy in the kitchen and even more content bent over her sewing machine. She was a master with a paint brush and a crochet needle.
From baseball to golf, horseracing to NASCAR, she was a lover of sports. She was a fearless international traveler and a flamboyant fan of life.

From working at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. during World War II, to coordinating military flights with the federal aviation agency at the Kansas City airport, Polly had many jobs. Her favorite was being mom to three daughters and grandma to their kids.

She leaves us puzzling over what on earth we will do with all those porcelain dolls she made, all those hand-painted snow babies, plastic canvas birdhouses, hand-decorated sweatshirts and crocheted afghans. We really want no more than the memories she gave us.

Memories of Mom in the 1950s, in that polka dot sundress holding a cigarette and highball. Mom in the '60s, treating her teenage daughters to a live Beatles concert (third row). In the '70s, shopping in London, daytripping in Majorca, exploring castles in Switzerland. Mom in the 1980s, tending a giant green leafy and very illegal mystery plant that somehow sprang up in her mint patch. Memories of Polly teaching the babies in the family how to catch, starting them out with a little red potato.

We thank her for teaching us to be travelers, readers, writers, artists, good cooks and spirited people. And that you can be whatever you want to be. And family is everything. And how to toss a half a chopped onion into whatever's boiling on the stove right before your husband gets home and the house will smell like you've cooked all day.

She is preceded in death by her husband Newt, daughter Shelley Myers Bolliger, and three brothers.

She is survived by two daughters, Sandi Myers Soendker (and Jim), Independence; Shari Myers Groh (and Mike), Raymore; six grandchildren, Mick Griffin, Lee's Summit, Mo., Angela Morris, Yorkville, Ill., Jason Huffaker, Baxter, Iowa; Becki Groh, Raymore, Mo., Sam Groh and Joe Groh, both of Lake Lotawana, Mo., and eight great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her brother, William Howard (and Carla), of Mountain City, Tenn.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Hope House, Independence, Mo. Polly was a longtime supporter of Hope House and its services for area victims of domestic abuse. For information on how to donate, go to hopehouse.net

Arrangements: Cullen Funeral Home, Raymore, MO (816) 322-5278