Maxine Ruth McFarlane (Lemler-Feuers) was born on May 30, 1929, and raised on the family farm near Sweet Springs, Missouri, by her parents, the late Anton John (Tony) Lemler Sr. and Lorena Cartee Lemler. She passed away on December 26,2025, at The Neighborhoods in Columbia, Missouri.
From an early age, Maxine blended her rural roots with a natural curiosity about the wider world. As a teenager, she would walk to Highway 40 (now I-70) to catch a Greyhound bus into downtown Kansas City, where she shopped at department stores like Emery, Bird, and Thayer-sparking a lifelong flair for fashion and style.
Maxine graduated from Sweet Springs High School. While working at the Georgia Brown Blosser Home for Crippled Children in Marshall, Missouri, she met Russell Edward “Bud” Feuers of rural Gilliam, Missouri. They married and settled on a farm along the Missouri River bank bottoms, partnering in farming with Bud’s parents, Chester and Mary Feuers. There, Maxine and Bud raised their three children.
During those years, Maxine was the heart of the household and an essential part of farm life. She provided countless meals for family and farm workers during planting and harvest, often drove a tractor, actively participated in butchering cattle and hogs she helped raise, planned vegetable and flower gardens, pulled weeds, canned massive quantities of produce, and hauled truckloads of corn to the Glasgow Co-op.
She was deeply committed to her children’s education-making regular trips to libraries, purchasing encyclopedias and chemistry sets, driving them to 4-H activities, and taking them on educational trips across the country and into Canada. They never missed a state Capitol. She subscribed for years to both The Kansas City Star and The Kansas City Times, with articles read aloud at the family table and discussed daily. Three home-cooked meals a day were shared there, with proper table setting and manners expected. Though she raised “country kids,” she prepared them for exceptional educations and wide horizons.
Later, Maxine pursued a nursing degree, reflecting her intelligence, determination, and lifelong love of learning. She worked for several years as the school nurse at Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Missouri, and also as the nurse for Banquet Foods.
Her Bud passed away suddenly at the age of 55. By that time, they had moved off the river-bottom farm to an older home in Gilliam, Missouri, which Maxine lovingly restored. The family joked that she was “Martha Stewart before Martha Stewart,” known for her elegant décor, gracious hospitality, and being famously ahead of her time-owning the area’s first microwave, an extra-large Amana Radar Range. There, she delighted in entertaining her children and a growing number of grandchildren. She often organized family adventures, including group trips to the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, and cruising with her children in Alaska.
Following her husband’s death, Maxine began commuting an hour and a half to the Marthasville, Missouri, area, volunteering as a nurse at the Emmaus Home. She later purchased a home nearby and became a deeply valued fixture of the Emmaus nonprofit, frequently working holidays so younger staff members could spend time with their families.
Around this period, Maxine began traveling extensively abroad. She traveled so frequently-and sometimes for extended stretches-that on one occasion she neglected to share her itinerary, prompting a month-long family mystery of “Where in the world is Maxine?” While traveling in Portugal, she met Don McFarlane. They later reunited in Greece, fell in love, and eventually married in Kauai, honeymooning back in Greece-two places especially meaningful to them. In classic Maxine style, she didn’t invite her grown children to the wedding, instead sending them beautiful boxed bouquets of tropical flowers on her wedding day. Maxine always referred to Don as the second great love of her life.
The couple initially settled in the Marthasville area, but Don, a Pacific Northwesterner, found Missouri summers less than appealing. They relocated to Whidbey Island, Washington, where they spent more than 20 years together-traveling the world corner to corner and building a life they dearly loved.
Late in life, Don suffered from Lewy body dementia. Maxine was an extraordinary caregiver to him. After his passing, she continued to travel and made frequent trips to visit her children. She cherished island life-walking the beaches (especially her favorite Double Bluff Beach), hiking with friends, and reveling in the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. She loved ferry boat trips through the San Juan Islands up to Victoria, B.C., day trips to Port Townsend, and taking the train through Seattle to Tacoma to visit Chihuly’s studio.
As her health declined, Maxine characteristically made a decisive move on her own, informing her children that she had placed herself in an independent living community on the island. She lived there for several years before deciding to return to Missouri, even refusing to sell her Whidbey Island home until just before leaving the island for the last time.
Eventually, Alzheimer’s disease took hold of a woman once known for her brilliant and sharp mind. Even so, her influence on her children and family remained profound and enduring.
Maxine is survived by her daughters, Debbie Corkery (Sam) of rural Columbia, Missouri, and Melanie Harris (Colleen) of New Orleans, Louisiana; her grandchildren Auben Galloway (Myra) of Columbia, Missouri, Sunshine Lee (Tom) of Little Rock, Arkansas, Jacob Feuers (Nicole) of Little Rock, Arkansas, and Megan Harris (Andy) of Denver, Colorado; and her great-grandchildren Karlie Barnett, Camryn Barnett, Cade Barnett, Ella Feuers, Jake Feuers, Gilam Galloway, and Gregor Galloway, along with many extended family members and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her son, Ritchie Feuers, and his wife, Susan, of Little Rock, Arkansas; three grandchildren, Melissa Feuers, Kip Harris, and Amber Galloway; her parents; and her siblings, Anton Lemler Jr. and Dolores Wehrs.
Maxine lived boldly, loved deeply, and modeled independence, intelligence, and grace for the generations who follow in her footsteps.
Maxine’s family will travel from a variety of states to come together to lovingly celebrate her life at a future date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, in remembrance of Maxine and in support of continued research and care.
Weiker Funeral Home in Slater is in charge of arrangements.