Mary Wharff Obituary

Lawrence resident Mary Wharff passed away the morning of July 31, as "Peace Train" by Cat Stevens played in the background. She spent the previous evening on the porch of St. Luke's Hospice House in Kansas City surrounded by family and friends.

She was born in Normal, Illinois on July 29, 1959, to Hazel (Hatch) and Keith Wharff. The family moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where Mary graduated from Linn-Mar High School in 1977 and Coe College in 1982. She spent the rest of the 80s in Atlanta writing fundraising appeals, doing freelance writing, and becoming a singer-songwriter. Mary moved to Lawrence in the 1990s, "to return to the Midwest and live under a big sky" and to become a full-time writer and artist. She completed an MFA in English at KU and later led writing workshops at the Lawrence Arts Center. Her stories and poems are widely published and admired. In recent years, she turned more to the visual arts, particularly printmaking and mosaic. During her years in Lawrence, Mary met Michael Andrew "Andy" Bloomer, the love of her life; they married on Leap Day 2000.

Mary had a gift for friendship and had several social circles. She and Andy were founding members of the cosmology group Kawsmos. "A cosmological world view," she wrote, "is one built on gratitude and wonder for all living things, including the universe." Her love for the more-than-human world ran deep; she had a special connection with the Baker Wetlands and loved the murmurations of blackbirds. Mary and Andy also belonged to a long-running book club that became a source of several close friends. Each December, the couple hosted their friends for a group reading of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." Mary was also active in the local writing community and was a co-curator of The Big Tent reading series at the Raven.

Both in person and in writing, Mary was exuberant, unafraid to express joy, enthusiasm, positivity. She listened intently to everyone, and she always had a smile and a hug for those she loved. One of her poems describes it best: "Your smile looks like spooning in the ice cream pint. . . . being in the question, laughing in the answer, winking in the secret." The last of her many mantras was "No time to hurry."

Mary Wharff was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Anne Wharff, and pets Champ, Leo, Opus, Kane, Zoe, Moby, and Volta. She is survived by many family members: her husband, Andy Bloomer; her siblings Carol Dorr, David Wharff, and Julia Wharff Piermont; nephews and nieces Katie, Stephen, Megan, Conner, Spencer, and Lily; grandnieces and -nephews Bradley, Coulomb, Mia, Jackson, and Joule; their significant others Dennis, Doug, Dana, Dave, Nick, Jessica, and Ashley; and Flanders the cat.

A memorial service will be held in October, date TBD.