Mary Alaine “Lanie” McCoy, 26, passed away peacefully in her husband’s arms, surrounded by the loving voices of her mother and sisters on May 6, 2020. She was born on March 16, 1994 to Mary “Mud” Brown Leek and David Leek, the youngest of the three Leek girls, following Elizabeth “Ellie” and Anna. Lanie would grow up in Leawood and graduate Shawnee Mission East in 2012 and the University of Kansas School of Journalism in 2016. After graduation, she would join her future husband, Hal McCoy, in Austin, TX.
Lanie found much joy in music and dancing. Her favorite musician was James Taylor, who she saw in concert four times, twice in Kansas City with family, once in Barcelona on her 21st birthday and finally with Hal in Austin.
Lanie viewed food as an opportunity to share love and an experience with her family and friends. She prided herself on being a great sous chef and cooking DJ. She kept a list of local restaurants to explore and especially enjoyed going out for seafood.
Lanie found her greatest joy in the water. She swam competitively from a young age through high school and then spent three summers coaching at The Carriage Club. Her fondest memories of water were spent with her family on paddle boards at Walloon Lake in Michigan.
Lanie shared her love with intention and was loved in return by the multitude. She possessed big blue eyes which demonstrated her desire for making meaningful connections with others. With this gift, Lanie made and kept countless friends throughout her life. She loved to meet new people and took great pride in the fact that she introduced herself to Hal at KU in the fall of 2014.
In Austin, Lanie and Hal spoke often of their plans to get a dog, marry, move closer to family and have children. Hal eventually surprised her with a white and gray Great Dane, Dale, in March 2019. That same week, Hal picked out Lanie’s engagement ring. Their plans were accelerated the following month with Lanie’s leukemia diagnosis. Lanie was admitted to The University of Kansas Health System on April 25, 2019 and Hal proposed to her bedside that night. Two days later, on April 27th, they were married in the Patient and Family Resource Center on her floor with a small gathering of family.
Lanie’s primary ambition in life was to help people and she achieved that goal. Her battle with leukemia gave her a new mission; she inspired countless registrations on the national marrow donor registry and tens of thousands of dollars in donations for leukemia research. In February of 2020, the first of many donors Lanie inspired would give their marrow at a children’s hospital in Fort Worth, TX.
Lanie was resolute in her confrontation with leukemia until the end, but she did eventually find peace with her passing. She was comforted knowing she would join her grandparents, MaryAnn and Joseph Brown and Carolee and Louis James Leek, and her dear friend, Erin Langhofer, in heaven. Her greatest concern was to leave behind her husband, Hal McCoy III; mother, Mud Leek; sisters, Elizabeth Murray (Tyler) and Anna Ludington (Charlie); her niece and goddaughter, Lucy Ludington; in-laws, Hal, Mindy, Sam and Mary McCoy; and countless other family and friends whom she held dear.
In lieu of flowers, her husband and family would suggest that people register on the Be The Match bone marrow registry or make contributions to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through this year’s campaign in her honor (https://pages.lls.org/mwoy/mid/kc20/tmitchell or venmo: @LLSTriumph).
A private family mass and burial will be held Tuesday, May 19, 2020. A celebration of life with friends and family will be held at another time.