Mary Lucille Wichman Lierz, 89, of Seneca, KS, died late Tuesday night, September 21, 2010 at the Hiawatha Community Hospital in Hiawatha, KS.

She was born May 22, 1921, on a farm east of Seneca, the daughter of Louis Sr. and Mary Carlin Wichman. She attended Victory School, Sts. Peter & Paul School, and worked on the family farm. When she was 16 years old she went to California to work as an au pair for two years.

On January 28, 1941, she married Walter H. Lierz at Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Seneca. The couple farmed southeast of Seneca until 1951 when they purchased D-X Service Station in Steinauer, NE. After moving to Nebraska, Mary was a stay-home mom and helped at the service station when needed. She later went to work for the Campbell Soup factory in Tecumseh, NE, where she was employed from 1963 until 1979, when she moved back to Seneca to take care of her mother.

The couple celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary in June of 1985. Lawrence preceded her in death on November 13, 1985. In later years Mary made her home in Seneca with her two brothers, Thomas and Raymond.

She was a member of Sts. Peter & Paul Church and the St. Ann’s Altar Society in Seneca. She belonged to several bridge card clubs.

She is survived by her sons, Albert Lierz of Omaha, NE and Eugene Lierz of Riverside, CA; two brothers, Raymond Wichman of Seneca and Harold Wichman of Litchfield Park, AZ; two sisters, Ellen Ramsey of Portland, OR and Audrey Luckeroth of Lawrence, KS; seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Besides her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by her daughter, Sharon McCue on September 21, 1962; and by five brothers; Walter, Thomas, Edwin, and Louis, Jr. and Glenn Wichman.

Mass of Christian Burial will be at 9 AM Saturday, September 25, at Sts. Peter & Paul Church in Seneca. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Rosaries will be prayed at 2 & 7 PM Friday at Lauer Funeral Home in Seneca.

Memorials may be given for Sts. Peter & Paul Building Fund, and sent in care of the family.