Mary E. Kolstad

July 3, 1934 - February 18, 2021

Mary E. Kolstad, loving mother, grandmother, sister and aunt, age 86, formerly of Kearney, passed away from cancer, Thursday, February 18, 2021 in Kansas City, Missouri. Funeral services will be held at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 3910 22nd Avenue, Kearney, NE on Friday, February 26, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. with Pastor Chad Anderson officiating. Burial will follow at Kearney Cemetery. Due to ongoing covid-related precautions mask wearing will be required during the service. The service will also be available via live stream at https://youtu.be/qYqOY6GwihU In lieu of flowers the family is requesting donations be made either to the Dr. Ole A. Kolstad Memorial Scholarship Fund or the Kearney Jubilee Center. Scholarship donations can be made online (https://nufoundation.org/fund/01064030/) or by check payable to the University of Nebraska Foundation, 214 West 39th Street, Kearney, NE 68845 (note in the memo: Dr. Ole A. Kolstad Memorial Scholarship Fund). Donations to the Jubilee Center can be made online (https://kearneyjubilee.org) in memory of Mary E. Kolstad. Please visit www.hlmkfuneral.com to leave a tribute or message of condolence. Horner Lieske McBride & Kuhl Funeral and Cremation Services in Kearney is in charge of arrangements. Mary was born July 3, 1934 in Fowler Colorado. She was married August 4, 1956. Her husband Ole preceded her in death in 1996. Together, they had 3 children: Jill, Joni and Jari. “If we just do things for ourselves, we’re never going to be happy. You don’t know what real joy is until you do something for someone.” These were Mary’s words, and her approach to life. While a resident in Kearney, Nebraska (her home from 1965 to 2017) she was an active supporter of the Kearney Jubilee Center (a ministry for and with poor and oppressed people), Kearney Head Start (where she worked as Parent Coordinator for 13 years) and traveled twice to Haiti with “Water4Haiti” (a non-denominational ministry providing clean water to residents of Haiti). Mary earned a two-year degree from McPherson College and taught at North Diamond rural school in Galva, Kansas in 1957 and at the Glade Country School in Glade, Kansas from 1958-1959. Later, she earned a B.A. in education from Kearney State College in 1986. Mary enjoyed teaching Spanish to children and did so at both the Zion Lutheran and Faith Christian schools in Kearney, Nebraska. Her three daughters and 10 grandchildren survive her: Jill Brown (Jeff) of Kansas City MO, Patrick Brown (Karleen) of McPherson Kansas, Victoria Brown and Catherine Brown of Kansas City MO; Joni Heiliger (Randy) of Lincoln NE, Jacob Heiliger (Becca) of Omaha NE, Joshua Heiliger (Anya) of Waddell AZ and Jordan Starkel (Beau) of Omaha NE; Jari Holliday (Geoff) of Aurora NE, Jarid Holliday (Samantha) of Lincoln NE, Mikayla Miller (Dalton) of Bemidji MN, Hunter Holliday and Hailey Holliday of Aurora NE. She is also survived by her sister Linda Sigala (Tony) of Arnold MO and four great grandchildren.