Margaret Jeanne Hill Rolley

Margaret was born on 12/22/1922, in Fargo, North Dakota, to Clifford and Agnes (Tekse) Hill. When she was two, her family moved to Superior, WI, where she enjoyed a happy childhood of family, friends, school, and church - even becoming the city ping pong champion one year. Because Superior was a college town, and because her dad could just drop her off at the college gate each morning on his way to work, attending college was possible for her in spite of the depression.  
After her junior year, she and three friends took the Rock Island Rocket to Kansas City to build B25 bombers.  At the end of the summer, her friends returned to Superior to finish school, but Margaret stayed and married John Rolley, who was also working at the factory.
They were married for 66 years. During their marriage, they had two children. Their son, Dickie, died in an iron lung when he was six years old from the polio virus, and that forever, changed their lives. They also had a daughter, Carolyn, who survives her mother.
Margaret coped with the help of her neighbors. They lived in a small neighborhood of small homes, but through her grief she learned that the kind deeds of others are what sustain life. Her next door neighbor, Dorothy, would knock on the back door every morning after their husbands went to work. She would sit with Margaret and share a cup of coffee. In the afternoons,  her other next door neighbor, Lucille, would sit with her and share a glass of iced tea. Nearly every day in the early days of the neighborhood, someone sat at her kitchen table for coffee or she at theirs. In her life, she tried to repay that kindness. She taught Sunday school and gave rides to elderly parishioners. For 20 years, until she was 87, she spent two days a week volunteering at St Paul’s Food Pantry in Kansas City, Kansas, where she enjoyed the camaraderie  of volunteering and made true friends. She cherished her years at St. Paul’s - times spent with the altar guild, the ECW, and Daughters of the King.
Her most joyful service was to her grandchildren. She was their caretaker while their parents worked. She could probably be described as the ‘world’s best grandmother ever’. She truly enjoyed them, and they her. She made many batches of chocolate chip cookies, rescued them at the last minute by delivering whatever it was they forgot, and loved them forever. They brought great comfort and purpose to John and her.
Her life was brightened again by the births of three little great granddaughters. When she could, she tried to watch them as well - sitting by the playpen to keep them occupied.
Margaret was a wonderful mother. She was intelligent and interesting. She had been a history major and could relate current events to past events. Conversations were engaging. Having grown up during the depression, she was  resourceful.  She sewed beautifully and could stretch a dollar more than seemed possible. She really did not crave worldly treasures but valued the gifts of reading, thinking, and watching British comedies because she knew real joy comes from giving and doing.
Margaret was predeceased by her husband, John Rolley; her son, Dickie Rolley, her parents, and three brothers. She is survived by her daughter, Carolyn Hund-Moody of Basehor, KS; her grandchildren, Joseph Hund, Kara (Bethie) Hund Ransburg of Olathe, KS, and Toby Moody (Tiffany) of NYC; her great granddaughters Rachael, Chloe, and Vivienne Margaret- Katheryn Ransburg of Olathe, KS., her nephew, Jack DeCaigny of KCK, and her niece, Donna Underwood of KCK.
Margaret’s family would like to recognize the wonderful people who cared for her at the end of her life. She went to Riverbend Post Acute Rehab four and a half years ago  after a stroke -with the intent that she would soon be going to a Hospice House. However, after having therapies at the facility, she became their success story. She learned to walk with a walker, eat mechanical soft chew food, and become independent again. She moved to assisted living and enjoyed it very much, anxiously awaiting a new Star crossword each morning.  After her 99th birthday, she began to fail.  The CMAs, CNAs, nurses, and all staff were and are kind, compassionate, fun, and loving caretakers. On one of her last days, she asked a special staff member not to leave her, and she didn’t. She sat by her and held her hand. Another lovely lady sang to her. Kind deeds sustaining life. Our family is humbled and inspired by their service, their work, their diligence, and their commitment to their residents. We can never repay them but hope we can honor them with our gratitude.

A Visitation will be held from 11-12:00 and a Memorial Service to follow at Noon on July 15, 2022 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Kansas City, Kansas.  Burial will follow at Maple Hill Cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas.