Wendell L. Mason, age 65, passed away peacefully while surrounded by family at Overland Park Regional Medical Center on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2006, after a courageous eight-month battle with mesothelioma, an asbestos-related lung cancer.
Mason was born on Nov. 10, 1941, in Violet Hill, Ark. He spent his childhood in the Seattle area before his family moved to Kansas City in 1957. Mason graduated from Westport High School in 1961, and married his loving wife of 43 years, Elizabeth Ann Harrison of Lebanon, Mo., on his birthday in 1963.
In December 2006, Mason retired from the Olathe Public School District after serving 15 years on the grounds maintenance crew. Prior to the working for the school district, he worked for Owens-Corning Fiberglass and its offshoot company, Performance Contracting Inc., for 28 years before retiring in 1991. A non-smoker, Mason was exposed to asbestos while working at Owens-Corning in the 1960s and 1970s.
An honest, hard-working, caring person, Mason was a gentle rock, strong and silent. Because of his upstanding, moral character, his unconditional love for his family and his open display of that love, he made a wonderful man, husband, father and brother.
Quiet and shy, his coy demeanor fooled most people whom he met, but his family knew better. His quick, dry sense of humor charmed them to no end, especially during Kansas Jayhawks basketball games. An avid KU fan since 1959, his enthusiasm and creative word choices during games engrained lasting memories in the minds of his family.
Mason is survived by his wife, three daughters, Kimberly Underwood of Portland, Ore.; Carmen Landreth and husband Mike, and Shawna Walberg and husband Matt, all of Olathe; son, Trent and wife Katherine, of Kennesaw, Ga.; nine grandchildren; and one great grandchild. He was preceded in death by his mother Clarice Mason in 1980 and father Paul Mason in 1991.
In lieu of flowers, please make contributions in memory of "Wendell Mason" to the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, PO Box 91840, Santa Barbara, CA 93190-1840, or online at http://www.marf.org/Donate/donate.html.