Funeral home in search of family, friends of 99-year-old Missouri woman

KANSAS CITY, Mo. ( WDAF ) — The search is on for the family and friends of a 99-year-old Grandview, Missouri, woman who died more than a month ago.

For nearly 30 years, 99-year-old Katherine Shirley called the Life Care Center of Grandview home.

Her social worker describes her as a kind woman of God, who took care of herself, and it was that place where the workers over the years became her family as the ones who were blood-related faded away for one reason or another.

The final stage of Ms. Shirley’s journey lies in the hands of the Marcom-Harvey Funeral Care, located in the Kansas City metro area. They tell Nexstar’s WDAF they’re doing all they can to give Katherine a proper celebration of life.

“We were elated and more than happy to take Ms. Shirley and honor her wishes,” said Aesha Humphrey, the co-owner of Marcom-Harvey Funeral Care.

It started in May when Katherine Shirley passed away. With no family, she became a ward of the state.

She was set to be cremated when it was discovered she had wished for and already paid for a proper burial, but the funeral home agreement had been closed.

There was also one other small catch.

“We couldn’t find anyone that knew her — no next of kin, no one. So we really want to honor what she wants to do and her legacy,” Humphrey said.

Shirley knew the casket and the flowers she wanted and Marcom-Harvey funeral home will accommodate that request.

They’re just hopeful that someone knows the former secretary who battled through the Civil Rights era and times where she couldn’t vote and, in the end, saw what progress looked like.

“We just have to do this. I just feel this is something that we must do, that we’re honored to do and that we will do,” Humphrey said.

As for the plans moving forward, there will be a community home-going celebration within the next two weeks for Shirley. For updates you can check the Marcom-Harvey social media pages as they will be making regular posts there.

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