Mary Kay Poland

Mary Kay Poland, daughter of Orin and Shirley (Russell) Trabert, was born on May 3, 1943, in Kansas City, Missouri. She passed at the age of 82 on March 9, 2026, in Venice, Florida. Named after her two grandmothers, she was the eldest of five siblings: Pat, Mike, Joanne, and Tim. She was raised at Clare Corner, a rural area between Olathe and Gardner, Kansas.

From an early age, Mary Kay was known for her beauty and poise. She was a candidate for Miss Emporia State Teacher’s College and remained meticulous in her appearance throughout her life. She began her education in a one-room schoolhouse before attending schools in Gardner and Olathe, graduating from Olathe High School in 1960. As a teenager she worked at a fast food restaurant, washed car windshields at her father’s service station, and served as a lifeguard. She loved drama and dance, taught tap dancing, entered college as a drama major, and was an active member of the Sigma Kappa Sorority, serving as president during her sophomore year.

At the age of twenty, Mary Kay was involved in a serious car accident that changed the course of her life. Through determination and quiet grit, she reclaimed her independence, carrying both emotional and physical pain with characteristic privacy.

She married Gene Poland on September 11, 1965, in Olathe, Kansas. Due to Gene’s work with IBM, the couple lived in several cities before settling in Marietta, Georgia. In each new place, Mary Kay quickly became involved in her community, joining the Newcomer Club and serving as an officer in Tulsa and Los Altos before becoming president in Marietta. She and Gene were deeply committed to community service. Mary Kay served breakfast to underprivileged children in Olathe, helped both children and adults learn to read, served as president of the Jaycee Janes, and was the first woman invited to join the Olathe Noon Optimist Club. Later she founded the Dixie Damsels Red Hat Society in Marietta and served as president of the Marietta Women’s Club, always focused on enhancing the lives of others through volunteer service.

Mary Kay became a certified water aerobics instructor in Marietta and taught classes for fifteen years. She also sold Mary Kay cosmetics, taking special pride in her work and the success that came with it. She and Gene raised two children, Sean Michael Poland (Britt) and Niki Lynn Stolarczyk (Steve), and she was a devoted grandmother to Emily Nicole Stolarczyk, Ryan Douglas Stolarczyk, and Gillian Raine Poland.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Gene; her brothers Michael Lee Trabert and James Patrick Trabert; and her parents, Orin and Shirley Trabert. She will be remembered for her resilience, her quiet strength, and her wry sense of humor.