Grace E. Ainslie passed away quietly in her sleep on April 9, 2025, in Liberty, Missouri, at the age of 90.
She is survived by three of her four children. Edie (Phil) Green of Smithville, Missouri, Steve (Candace) Ainslie of Sheridan, Wyoming, and Andy (Beth) Ainslie of Rapid City, South Dakota. Her oldest child, James N. Ainslie, predeceased her in 2019 in the Tri Cities, Washington.
Our Mother was born on Jan. 7, 1935 to Wisner and Edith (Polgreen) Buckbee and raised on a dairy farm that has been in her family since 1766. Her younger brother Wisner (Gladys) Buckbee Sr., passed in 2020. Al (Judy) Buckbee, the youngest of the three siblings, resides in the Warwick, N.Y., area.
Grace grew up outdoors, helping where she could in the ninth generation daily milking operation and was involved in 4-H, showing their prized stock at County Fairs. She loved horses and animals. She attended Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., where she met Neilon James Ainslie from Hartwick, N.Y., a Navy veteran and student in the Hotel and Restaurant Administration College.
They were married in 1954. Upon graduation, they followed their ambitions out West, leaving their home State of New York, never to return but for brief visits. Stops along the way included Falls Church, Virginia, Indianapolis, Indiana, Danville, Illinois, Omaha, Nebraska, Sioux City, Iowa, Manhattan, Kansas, Lincoln, Nebraska, and Liberty, Missouri. Our father passed away in 2002.
Mother loved all kinds of music and was a very good vocalist and piano player. She raised us in the Methodist Church where she sang in the choir and played piano. She enjoyed Bridge and Cribbage. She also loved to garden and bird watch.
She obtained her Medical Records Transcriptionist credential at Iowa Western Tech in Sioux City and could type 100+ words per minute. She put those skills to good use at St. Luke’s Hospital in Sioux City and Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas.
She instilled independence and a love for the outdoors in each of her kids by involving us in camping, Scouts and many vacations in the Great Outdoors. She held loose reins over her kids, allowing us to learn (and sometimes get into trouble) on our own. She was empathetic to all.
“Did everyone get just what they wanted” she was known for asking at family dinners.
Her grandkids are Jill Ainslie and Erin Soto, of Tri-Cities, Washington; Angela Ainslie (d. 2006) San Diego, California; Grant Green, Smithville, Missouri; Steven (Jolynn) Green, Kansas City, Missouri; Ian Ainslie, Big Sky, Montana; Grace (Matt) Johnson, Rosemount, Minnesota; Kathleen (Daniel) Henderson, Anaheim, California; Emily (Daniel) Allen, Columbia, Tennessee; Evan Ainslie, Rapid City, South Dakota; and Allison (Joe) Brown, Hermosa, South Dakota.
She has 11 great grandkids and several nieces and nephews.
She was fortunate to have had a good long and healthy life for which she was very thankful and grateful.
May she rest in peace in her Heavenly Home. Amen.
Celebrations of her Life will be held at Park Lawn Funeral Home-Northland Chapel, 1640N State Route 291, Liberty, Missouri 64068, on Saturday, June 7, at 10:30 a.m. and in Warwick, NY., at a later time.
Online condolences may be left at www.parklawnfunerals.com.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to your local Audubon Society.