KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Mary Laffoon, a longtime restaurant owner in the Kansas City metro, has died at the age of 102.

Family announced she passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 29, surrounded by family.

According to her obituary, she was born on Dec. 24, 1920. She was 1 of 8 children and was married to Everett Lee “Dutch” Laffoon for 63 years until his death in 1999. They had four children together.

Mary and “Dutch” founded the family’s restaurant, Frontier Steakhouse, located at 9338 State Ave. in Kansas City, Kansas, in 1960. On the land once stood a Phillips 66 station, a small restaurant and the Laffoon family home.

She was a lifelong member of St. Patrick’s Church, right across from the restaurant.

Mary continued helping her two sons, Dennis and Ron, operate the restaurant until the age of 90 in 2010. During that time the family saw the city grown around the restaurant with the construction of Kansas Speedway and the entire Village West area.

The restaurant was open for six decades, until the COVID-19 pandemic and other issues caused the restaurant to close for good.

The land where the family restaurant once stood now sits empty but the memories of the special recipes, such as her homemade pies, and entertainment Mary and her family help bring for decades will carry on.

Funeral services for Mary are pending at this time.