7/8/1953 – 8/27/2026
Eudora
Vicky Sue Mercer of Eudora, Kansas passed away peacefully on August 27, 2026, at KU Medical Center following a long illness. While her family grieves the loss of someone so deeply loved, they are also grateful for the beautiful life she lived and for the countless lives she touched along the way.
Vicky was born on July 8, 1953, in Benkelman, Nebraska, to Donna and Billie Baney. She grew up on the family farm outside Benkelman, where she learned many of the qualities that would define her throughout her life: hard work, determination, creativity, and a deep love for family. She attended Parks Public Schools through 8th grade and then Benkelman High School, where she played volleyball and was a cheerleader before graduating with the class of 1971.
On April 15, 1972, Vicky married the love of her life, Jerry Mercer, at the Benkelman Methodist Church. Together they built a life centered around faith, family, service, and love. They soon welcomed their daughter, Dawnita, and later their son, Jason. For the next 54 years, Vicky and Jerry walked through life side by side, sharing not only a marriage but a ministry and a deep friendship.
Vicky’s greatest joys were not found in titles or careers. They were found in being a wife, a mother, a grandmother, and Jerry’s faithful partner in ministry for 51 years. Wherever their ministry took them in Tennessee, Colorado, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Alabama, Iowa and eventually Eudora, Kansas, Vicky quietly and faithfully gave of herself to others. She had a way of making people feel welcome, cared for, and loved. In Eudora, where she and Jerry spent the greatest part of their ministry, she stood beside him and helped serve others until her illness made that no longer possible.
Vicky had an extraordinary creative spirit. She was a truly gifted artist who could look at an ordinary object and see something beautiful waiting to emerge. She painted on canvas, but also on cream cans, crocks, saw blades, windmill blades, and just about anything else that inspired her. Many family members still have Vicky’s paintings displayed in their homes, and those pieces will become treasured reminders of her for generations to come.
She also loved to have fun and enjoyed watching sports, especially football and, most of all, her beloved Denver Broncos. She and Jerry loved to travel together, and their trips were rarely just about reaching a destination. They were about the adventure, the unexpected moments, the places they discovered, and the memories they made together.
But more than anything, Vicky loved her family. Her family was her “everything.” She was a wife who loved deeply, a mother who gave endlessly, and a grandmother who treasured every moment with her grandchildren. Her love was woven into the everyday moments of family life, the conversations, the laughter, the celebrations, the trips, the encouragement, and simply being there. Her family knew they were loved because Vicky made sure they knew it.
Vicky was preceded in death by her parents, Donna and Billie Baney; her father and mother-in-law, Mary Lou and Bill Mercer; her brother, Rick Baney; and her brothers-in-law, Tom Mercer and Bill Mercer.
Vicky is survived by her husband, Jerry; her daughter, Dawnita Schaffer of Gardner, Kansas; and her son, Jason Mercer and his wife, Lisa, of Omaha, Nebraska. She was a proud grandmother to Trinity Vetere of North Carolina, and Dalton Mercer and Lane Mercer, both of Omaha.
She is also survived by her brother, Randy Baney and his wife, Susie, of Benkelman, Nebraska, and her sister, Sharon Jamieson and her family of Summerville, South Carolina. She leaves behind the family of Rick Baney, David Mercer, Dean Mercer, the family of Tom Mercer, the family of Bill Mercer, Marianne Mercer and her family, along with many beloved aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and others whose lives she touched.
Vicky leaves behind far more than memories. She leaves behind a lifetime of love. She will be deeply missed, forever loved, and never forgotten.
A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, at 11:00 a.m., at Hesper Friends Church, Eudora, KS. There will be a celebration of life and inurnment in Benkelman, Nebraska at a later date.
The family suggests memorial contributions be made to Jerry Mercer or Dawnita Schaffer and the family will designate a memorial at a later date.
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