Mary Sue Gilkeson

Mary Sue Gilkeson died peacefully at her home on Sunday, April 14, 2013. She was born in Topeka, KS, on August 19, 1914, to Susan Bingham and Ralph K. Ball. She attended Topeka schools and graduated from Washburn University in Topeka in 1936 with a B.A. degree. Sue married her college sweetheart, Washburn law graduate Leo William Mulloy, in 1939, and the couple moved to Wichita, KS where Mr. Mulloy was an attorney at the Federal Land Bank. He later served as public relations director for Boeing during WWII, led the successful campaign for legalized liquor in Kansas in 1947, and practiced law until he died in 1960. Sue married Hunter Boyd Gilkeson, owner of Lusco Brick & Stone, in 1968, and they were happily together for thirty years until his death at age 89 in 1998. She moved to Lawrence following her 90th birthday to live with her daughter.
Sue is survived by three sons: John Mulloy and his wife Sandi, Huntington Beach, CA; Bruce Gilkeson and wife Cecilia, Wichita, KS, and Jim Gilkeson and his partner, Diane Tegtmeier, Middletown, CA; and three daughters, Molly Mulloy, Lawrence KS; Marty Moulthrop and husband Jim, Austin, TX, and Maggi Jones and husband Leon, Dallas, TX. She also has ten grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren; her grandson Danny Mulloy preceded her in death in 2011.
Sue spent much of her time in volunteer, board, and philanthropic activities during her 65 years in Wichita, including the Wichita Junior League, the Wichita Historical Museum, Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority, Daughters of the American Revolution, the Institute of Logopedics, Botanica, and the Arthritis Foundation. She was particularly proud of her membership on the 1976 Kansas Bicentennial Commission, which brought the bicentennial “Freedom Train” to Wichita, and on the Wichita Festival Committee, where she spearheaded Blackbear Bosin’s “Keeper of the Plains” sculpture on the Arkansas River. She was a long-time member of University Congregational Church in Wichita before moving to Lawrence. Her family and friends will long remember her wonderful sense of humor, joie de vivre, kindness, and generosity.
There will be a graveside service at Mount Hope Cemetery in Topeka, KS at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, April 17, 2013. A party in Sue’s memory for family and friends will be at 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 17th at her daughter Molly Mulloy’s at 1900 Crossgate, Lawrence.
Condolences may be sent to the family c/o WarrenMcElwain.com. The family suggests memorials to the KU Audio-Reader Network or to the Wichita Historical Museum sent in care of Warren-McElwain Mortuary, 120 W. 13th St, Lawrence, KS 66044.
Online condolences and full obituary may be seen at www.warrenmcelwain.com.
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