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Obituary for Lisa Marie Demaree
Lisa Marie Demaree nee’ Groszek
December 27, 1969 – December 23, 2020
Lisa Marie Demaree was born on December 27, 1969 and died on December 23, 2020 @ 6:30 am. Lisa was predeceased by her parents, Joseph Edward Groszek and Betty M. Groszek nee’ Ridgeway.
Lisa is survived by her loving husband of thirty-one years, Luke Demaree, her children Trisha, Ashley, Tim, Krystal, Sara, Zoe “Talyn”, and Eli Demaree; and by her grandchildren Braeden and Anaiyah Demaree, Kate and Peyton Tadlock and by her brothers and sisters-in-laws Joe Groszek (Donna Groszek); Mark Groszek (Pam Grozek) and her niece and nephew Amber Groszek and Mitch Groszek. Lisa was “mama” and “nana” to over eighty children that she and Luke fostered and loved unconditionally over the years in addition to the numerous souls she took under her wings through the years. Lisa was a true friend to all she met, always sharing of herself, even when things got bad and her time was so short.
Lisa was a graduate of Olathe North High School. She also studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New Your, the Kansas City Art Institute, Johnson County Community College, Washburn University and the University of Missouri School of Law. Lisa held degrees in elementary education, criminal law and criminology with a special emphasis in psychology and criminal psychology which she used as a juvenile probation officer in Wyandotte County for at risk youths. Lisa later returned to school to study botany and horticulture which she used, working as a florist to open the first greenhouse for Dillions Stores in Olathe Kansas. Lisa went on to work for Fields Florists before managing the floral shops and greenhouses for Schnucks Supermarkets and HyVee on 119th Street and later opening the HyVee floral shop on Martway just off of Metcalf in Overland Park, KS. Lisa entered law school where she was a strong advocate for the Innocence Project and after graduating with her Juris Doctorate in 2005, Lisa worked full time for the Innocence Project for a year and a half before taking a job with Pixis where she worked as a legislative auditor finding jobs for out of work and displaced Kansans. Lisa returned to school to study sewing which she used to start designing her own clothes for the budding runway scene in the Midwest before opening Avondale, her design shop which overlooked the Plaza. Lisa went on to open her Frock Shops, clothes botiques, in Olathe Kansas and just off of Metcalf as well as selling out her wares at a chain of consignment shops in Leavenworth Kansas. When Lisa was first diagnosed she was forced to close her shops, but unable to sit still, she pursued her love of baking, selling her macaroons and confections at holiday shows and fairs. Despite her numerous accolades, Lisa introduced herself as a pastry chef, a befitting title for all who had the pleasure of tasting one of her delicacies, and for the sweet perfection she stirred into the lives of everyone she met.
Lisa loved art and fashion, theater and sushi, sketching her whimsical characters and baking her ornate confections. Lisa called New York City her second home, but she could not go a year without digging her toes into the Gulf Shores sand. Lisa kept Christmas like no other—watching Hallmark reruns all year—in anticipation of each December 25 when her charity Betty’s Angel’s would put together hundreds of bags of essentials and socks [and ornate socks] for those in need, and when she would open her home, her winter wonderland, to her children, her fostered children, her stray children, her grandchildren and her friends. Lisa’s passion was people, starting with the countless tiny souls she touched as a foster mother throughout her life. She was a constant advocate, always insisting on the best for her children and supporting foster parents with her advice and the first foster parents bill of rights. Lisa touched every person around her, starting their careers, curing their ills, or just listening when each needed it most, her soft words and kind advice balanced only by her quick wit, her uncanny sarcasm and her love of life. Lisa was a true master of the human soul, she hid her own pain and suffering behind her beautiful smile and her emerald eyes, and made each person she encountered feel special as if they were the only person in the world, the spirit she knew they could be.
The angels in heaven must have been slacking, our good Lord called Lisa away to decorate heaven, just two days before Christmas. While Lisa will be missed by all she touched, her spirit and work will live on in the hundreds of human masterpieces she created, her family, her friends, her countless children, may we all live up to the perfection she beheld in each of us. Luke Demaree and Lisa’s children are planning a wake/service for Lisa on Saturday, January 9, 2021 from 3:00pm to 9:00pm. We will read a tribute to Lisa’s life and pray an our father around 4:30pm and again at 7:00pm. The tribute is posted on Lisa’s Facebook page so please come when it best fits your schedule and share your memories of this remarkable woman. If you would like say something special on her behalf, please let us know and we will try to arrange the same.
A celebration of life service will be held at the Weatherby Lake Community Center, located at 8230 NW Potomac Ave, Weatherby Lake, MO 64152 on January 9, 2021 from 3:00pm to 9:00pm. It is our hope that a gathering of all of her family and friends can come together in celebration of her life and share stories and memories.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the family to assist with final expenses for Lisa’s care or donations may be made to gofundme.com/lisa-demaree in memory of Lisa Demaree.
Please help celebrate the life of Lisa by sharing a memory or expressing your condolences to the family.
