Monarch Hospice & Palliative Care, 7451 Switzer Road Ste 100 Shawnee Mission, Shawnee, KS (2025)

09/30/2025

September's Monarch Monthly Moment was truly special! We were thrilled to celebrate Barbara Olson from Village at Mission – Overland Park as our honored winner.
Barbara has a deep love for animals and cherishes time with her family, so Monarch Hospice treated her and her loved ones to a beautiful day at Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead. 🐐🐓🌻
Her joy was infectious — Barbara was absolutely glowing the entire day! Her warmth, her love for people, animals, and life itself shone through in every smile and word she shared. 💛
Barbara’s daughter told us, “I haven’t seen my mom this happy in so long!” Moments like these are why we do what we do.
Barbara, your zest for life is inspiring — and we love YOU! 💜

09/04/2025

Monarch Hospice was deeply honored to host a 103rd Birthday Party for one of our treasured patients, Bernard Kramer, of Aventura Senior Living in Overland Park, KS.
Bernard was the proud winner of our August Monarch Monthly Moment, and his celebration was truly one to remember. Surrounded by family, fellow residents, and his entire Monarch Care Team, Bernard was all smiles as we celebrated his incredible milestone.
A lifelong and passionate checkers player, Bernard once competed in tournaments—and still has the skills to prove it! If you ever visit, be prepared: he’ll likely challenge you to a game... and don’t expect to win! ♟️😉
To honor his love for the game, Monarch gifted Bernard a beautiful wooden checkers table. True to form, he wasted no time—moments after opening it, he invited one of our care team members to play the first of many matches.
Happy Birthday, Bernard! Your energy, joy, and love for the game and for life inspire us all. 💜

08/16/2025

We are honored to recognize Mary Margaret Parks as July’s Monarch Monthly Moment winner. Mary is a cherished patient who resides at home in Liberty, Missouri, with her devoted daughter, Susie. A gentle and sweet soul, Mary’s love for her family, flowers, ice cream, and the Kansas City Royals shines brightly.

To celebrate her, Monarch Hospice gifted Mary a Royals jersey, a family gift card to Alice Scoopers Ice Cream Shoppe, and a special outing to Powell Gardens in Kingsville, Missouri. Surrounded by stunning botanical displays, Mary spent the day with all of her children—three sons and one daughter—their spouses, and grandchildren. It was a rare and joyful reunion.

At the end of the day, Mary turned to her daughter and said, “It was the best day ever.”

Mary Margaret, thank you for allowing us to be part of your journey. It is truly our honor to care for you. 💜

07/07/2025

💜 June Monarch Monthly Moment: Honoring Betty Stevens – North Point SNF, Paola, KS 💜

This month, Monarch Hospice had the absolute joy of celebrating the 103rd birthday of a truly remarkable woman — Betty Stevens, our June Monarch Monthly Moment honoree.

Since becoming part of the Monarch family, Betty has touched our hearts with her gentle spirit and warm smile. On her special day, June 23rd, we had the honor of surrounding her with love from her daughter Marilyn, son Dennis, their spouses, the caring staff at North Point, and her dedicated Monarch Hospice care team.

Together, we celebrated a life well-lived and a soul deeply cherished.

🎉 Happy 103rd Birthday, Betty! 🎂
Thank you for letting us be part of your journey. You are a true inspiration. 💐

See video added to comments section💜

06/19/2025

A Royal Moment for Pete Loftus! 💙⚾
Monarch Hospice was honored to treat our latest Monarch Monthly Moment winner, Pete Loftus, to a truly special day at Kauffman Stadium! Pete and his family have always been devoted Royals fans, holding season tickets for years. We were thrilled to send them off in style to a Sunday Royals vs. Tigers game!
With the help of Royal Care Transport, Pete, his wife Rhonda, and their daughter Kara were picked up from Morningside Place in Overland Park, KS, and whisked away for their royal experience. Seated along the first baseline, they enjoyed a perfect view of the action.
Pete’s wife shared, “We had a wonderful time, and Pete was a trooper. He was fully engaged with the game, and our seats were perfect! Thank you. It was a full day and one we are so thankful for!”
Making treasured memories is at the heart of what we do, and we are so grateful to have given Pete and his family the Royal treatment. ⚾💜🦋

05/06/2025

On April 28th, Monarch Hospice had the honor of celebrating the life of one of our treasured patients, Bonita(Bonnie) Reeves of Overland Park, KS. Bonnie was the recipient of our April Monarch Monthly Moment, and we were privileged to recognize her in a heartfelt celebration.

Surrounded by the love of her Monarch Care Team and her family(daughter Becky, her husband, and their two kids),Bonita enjoyed a joyful gathering on the patio of their home. The afternoon was filled with pizza, storytelling, shared memories, and music—featuring a special harmonica performance by Monarch Chaplain, Joseph.

Formal family photos were taken to capture the moment, and Bonita was presented with a framed family portrait signed by her Monarch Care Team.

We extend our deepest thanks to Bonnie’s family for welcoming us into their home and hearts. And most of all, thank you, Bonnie, for your warmth, your spirit, and for sharing your journey with us. It has been a true blessing to know you.

Bonita Reeves passed away on May 5th. Rest in peace, precious soul

03/19/2025

Monarch Hospice had the honor of sharing a deeply meaningful and heartfelt gift from one of our patients to his wife, just in time for her birthday. Dennis Rippe, a patient at Tiffany Springs Rehabilitation, has been facing the challenges of Senile Degeneration. While he can no longer engage in fluent conversation, he is still able to speak a few words and phrases.

When our Music Therapist, JJ, visited to sing with Dennis, he surprised everyone by singing along! He knew every word to several songs, much to the amazement of his wife.

This beautiful moment made Dennis the perfect candidate to receive our Eternal Heart Song gift, one of the many services we offer to our hospice patients and their families. JJ was able to record Dennis' actual heartbeat using a special stethoscope, then add a song to create a timeless keepsake for his family.

What made it even more special was that Dennis joined in, singing along with JJ. Their voices, paired with his heartbeat, created a truly magical Eternal Heart Song—a keepsake that will live on in his family’s hearts forever. Dennis' heartbeat and love will always be with them. 💖 If you would like to view the video, see comments section below.

His Monarch Care Team, along with his daughter Amy, were there to present the gift to his wife, Debbie. It was such a touching moment, and an honor to be part of. Thank you, Dennis and family, for allowing the Monarch team to care for you.

01/13/2025

Monarch’s Monthly Moment winner for November was Ariadne (Ari) Wilkerson, formerly of Olathe, KS. Ari had never seen The Nutcracker Ballet, so her wish was to attend the classic performance with her daughter in December at the Kauffman Theatre in Kansas City. Monarch Hospice was committed to helping make that wish come true.

Sadly, with heavy hearts, we had to say goodbye to our beloved Ari, who passed away on November 21, 2024, surrounded by her family.

In honor of Ari’s memory, Monarch Hospice still wanted to help her family celebrate her life by attending the ballet together. We were able to provide additional tickets for Ari’s daughter, Ariadne (Little Ari) Handley with her husband Trevor, Ari’s son Kevin Ferrell, Ari’s sister Karla Wilson-Montiel, and her cousin Karla Montiel, so they could attend The Nutcracker in Ari’s honor.

In the accompanying photos, Ariadne’s daughter (in the pink skirt) and Ariadne’s sister (in the red sweater) are pictured with other family members, holding a beautiful portrait of a remarkable woman.

Rest in peace, Ariadne. May you now be enjoying the ballet of angels in the heavens 💜

01/07/2025

In September, Monarch was able to carry out a BONUS Monarch Monthly Moment for one of our treasured patients, Carolyn Beller, a former resident of Trustwell Overland Park.
Carolyn Beller was Monarch’s beloved patient for over a year and a half. It was Carolyn’s wish to be able to attend her only Grandson’s wedding on September 28th. It was Monarch’s honor to fulfill her wish!
Monarch Hospice was able to help her prepare for the wedding and attend the wedding. Our Volunteer Coordinators, Linda, did her nails, and Kelly, did her makeup and hair. Monarch bought her a new outfit and provided for medical transportation to the wedding. Our very own CNA, Melissa, was her special chaperone, and felt privileged to do so, since she considered Carolyn to be her second mom. It was a very special Monarch Moment…a beautiful wish fullfilled, for a beautiful person, heart and soul, to attend the beautiful wedding of her grandson. Her wish was fulfilled and our hearts at Monarch were filled.
Carolyn went to her heavenly home only a couple weeks after attending her grandson’s wedding, on 11/16/24.
Rest in peace beautiful Carolyn. Thank you for touching our hearts💜

11/04/2024

The winner of October’s Monarch Monthly Moment was Tyrone Lockett. It is with heavy hearts that we share that he passed away on October 31, before we could celebrate him with a Monarch Moment. May he be at peace now.

Although we were not able to celebrate him with a Monarch Moment, due to unforeseen challenges, we still want to honor him by sharing a little about him: He was a very kind 62 year-old man that became a Monarch Hospice patient on 10/4, and was voted as the Monarch Monthly Moment winner on 10/14, so he won our hearts quickly! He lived most of his life with his mom, due to becoming paralyzed at an early age in life. He and his mom had a very close relationship. He was 1 of 9 children, worked in sales, and loved getting to know people. His sister, Angel, described him as, “a very kind and loving man that always tried to have a positive outlook on life”

Tyrone was a huge Los Angeles Lakers basketball fan and huge Kansas City Chiefs football fan. Monarch Hospice was planning to decorate his room in Chiefs and Lakers, memorabilia, and bring he and his family together to watch a Lakers championship basketball game, or Kansas City Chief’s Super Bowl game, along with food and gifts.

But now that he is no longer with us, FOR him we say, “Go Chiefs! Mahomes, you are a star!” and “Go Lakers! LeBron you are the man!” and TO him we say, “Godspeed Tyrone, you are our hero!”
RIP Tyrone 💜

10/10/2024

Celebrating Betty Patterson: Our September Monarch Moment Winner 🦋💜

We are honored to announce that Betty Patterson, one of our treasured patients, has been recognized as our September Monarch Moment winner! We’re grateful to celebrate this special moment with you.

Betty is an avid Kansas City Chiefs fan, so to show our appreciation and support, Monarch Hospice hosted a Kansas City Chiefs Football watch party in her honor. There was food, football and fun! We also showered her with some gifts: Kansas City Chiefs wreath, spirit wear, throw, jigsaw puzzle, travel mug and a red and yellow bouquet of flowers! She was touched with all the gifts, the party and the great turnout! Her daughter, Diane, and good family friend were able to join also.

It is our pleasure to be able to care for Betty and to care about her.

Congratulations Betty! You are a very special lady!

08/28/2024

Time for another Grief First Aid Tip!

Everyone grieves differently! There is no right way to grieve. Your grief is yours, and yours alone. Some need to express their grief, while others prefer to process in silence. Some might feel angry while others feel sad, numb, or relief. All of these responses are valid and your right way. Don’t feel like you are grieving the wrong way because there is no such thing.

Monarch Hospice & Palliative Care

09/30/2025

09/04/2025

08/16/2025

07/07/2025

06/19/2025

05/06/2025

03/19/2025

01/13/2025

01/07/2025

11/04/2024

10/10/2024

08/28/2024

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Practice

Shortcuts

Share

Category