Mary Jane Roper

Mary Jane Roper, 88, of Hays, Kan., died on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016, at the Sunnybrook Care Center, in Fairfield.

In lieu of flowers, consider a donation in Roper?s name to the Wichita Art Museum, 1400 Museum Blvd. Wichita, Kansas 67203. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.murphyfuneralandmonuments.com. The Murphy Funeral Home, of Mt. Pleasant, is handling the arrangements.

Roper was born in Hays, Kan., on Aug. 4, 1927, the daughter of Barbara and George Kitchen. She graduated from Girl?s Catholic High School, in Hays, and attended Ft. Hays State College, where she met and married her husband, David Paul Roper. She also attended Wichita State University and earned both a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Art Education.

She taught at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School, Christ the King Catholic School and Pleasant Valley Junior High School, all in Wichita. She also worked as a Art Education Administrator for the Wichita Public School System. Upon her retirement, she and her husband developed Pine Valley Farm, in Valley Center, where they grew Christmas trees and operated a Christmas Gift Shop. She also worked as a Master Gardener with the Sedgwick County Master Gardeners Association.

She enjoyed musical theater, attending the Wichita Symphony, and visiting gardens and art museums everywhere.

Roper is survived by her brother, Donald Kitchen, of Hays, Kan.; her four daughters, Robin (Karl) Zavitkovsky, of Dallas, Texas; Jennifer (Tom) Fishback, of Fairfield; Deanna (Bob) Liebl, of Wichita, Kan.; and Vanessa Viviano, of Mableton, Georgia; her grandchildren; and her great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, David Paul Roper; her brothers, William and Robert Kitchen; and her sister, Patricia Kitchen.