Mary Jane Wehr

Mary Jane (Millard) Wehr, 60, of Jefferson City, passed away peacefully on Sunday, September 16, 2018, surrounded by her purses and Mt. Dew. She was born on April 25, 1958, in Barnesville, Ohio, a daughter of the late Robert J. and Alice A. (Kemp) Wehr. At the age of seven, Mary Jane's parents passed away. She and her three siblings, Curtis, Gary and Shelly, were adopted by her mother's sister and her husband, June and William Millard. The Millard's had four children, who included Mark, Bart, Diantha and Reid. One day there were four children in the house and the next day there were eight, June would always say. In school, Mary Jane was an avid sports fan while growing up in the little river town of Brilliant, Ohio. During football games, you could always hear her voice above all others, cheering for her favorite Husky football players, Danny Hall, Roy Holiday and Danny Otto. She graduated in 1976 from Buckeye North High School in Brilliant, Ohio. For more than 23 years she worked with her brother, Reid Millard, at his funeral homes. Proudly overseeing his calendar and reminding him of upcoming church picnics, civic meetings, charity functions, weddings and other events he needed to attend. Working up until her final hours in life, she reminded Reid of a wedding and a bachelor party he needed to go to the day before she passed away. She laughed when she told him about the bachelor party. She said, "Oh yes, it's at a pizza shop. Now what kind of guy would have his bachelor party at a pizza shop". Working quietly behind the scenes, she would assist families in a lot of ways with her sincere care and personal attention, but mostly with her warm heart and gentle hugs. She especially liked working at the funeral home in Chamois. She said the people there reminded her of the people back in the little river town where she grew up along the Ohio River. In Jefferson City, Mary Jane was always astonished that families she had assisted over the years would stop by occasionally just to check on her. Her coworkers loved her colorful character and enjoyed Mary Jane's comical imitations of her brother's stock car racing abilities. She loved QVC, Christmas and purses. Mary Jane would always start shopping on December 26th for next year's Christmas. A tremendously giving heart, she would buy gifts for the whole family, her friends, coworkers and even her chief antagonist, Fr. Brendan Doyle. She would make sure to have extra gifts wrapped by her desk around Christmas time, and when a family who brought in little children for their grandparent's visitation or service, she would give them a gift to make them feel special. Mary Jane always thought that was important to do. To say she loved purses would be an understatement. Besides celebrating Christmas, she loved collecting purses, and of course, more purses. When questioned by her brother about her purses, she would always say, "Here's the deal. You don't ask me about all of my purses and I won't ask you about all of those fire trucks!" And of course, that was always followed by great laughter. Mary Jane enjoyed taking breaks in her outdoor office at the funeral home with anybody as long as it involved a Mt. Dew and a "breathing treatment". She loyally followed NASCAR driver Carl Edwards, but would travel anywhere to see her favorite country singer, Vince Gill. Those of us who worked every day with Mary Jane and knew her on a personal basis will miss her. She was warm hearted and kind to the hundreds of families she has embraced over the past 23 years at our funeral homes. She truly was a special part of our family. Mary Jane is survived by her adopted mother: June Millard of Jefferson City, Missouri; two sisters: Shelly Davis (Mike) and Diantha Grabinski (Chester), both of Jefferson City, Missouri; three brothers: Bart Millard of Holts Summit, Missouri; Mark Millard Sr. and Reid Millard, both of Jefferson City, Missouri; three nieces: Tracy Millard-Chilton (Shawn) of Jefferson City, Missouri; Jessica Millard and Lexie Millard, both of Newnan, Georgia; five nephews: Derek Givens (Della) of Wellsburg, West Virginia; Chris Zack of Seattle, Washington; Mark Millard Jr. (Jana) of Jefferson City, Missouri; Blake Millard (Kimi) of Springfield, Missouri and Ashton Millard of Newnan, Georgia; five great-nephews: Braden Millard, Alex Millard, Collin Chilton, Cohen Chilton and Aiden Millard; two great-nieces: Zoe Chilton and Elena Millard and sister-in-law: Glenda Wehr of Atlanta, Georgia. She was preceded in death by her birth parents: Robert and Alice Wehr; adopted father: William Millard; and brothers: Gary Wehr and Curtis Wehr. Friends will be received from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, September 21, 2018, at Houser-Millard Funeral Directors. Funeral Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 22, 2018, at Houser-Millard Funeral Directors, 2613 West Main Street, Jefferson City, Missouri, with Rev. Joe Skiles officiating. Entombment will follow in Hawthorn Memorial Gardens. In honor of Mary Jane's love for the Christmas season and children, expressions of sympathy may be made by bringing a child's toy or gift to the funeral home or donations can be made to the Toys for Tots Program. Arrangements are under the direction of HOUSER-MILLARD Funeral Directors, 2613 West Main Street, Jefferson City, Missouri 65109 (573) 636-3838. Condolences may be left online for the family at www.millardfamilychapels.com.