Cindy C. Mcelwee

Your wings were ready, but our hearts were not.

Cindy McElwee, age 61, was diagnosed with a very aggressive terminal cancer mid-June, she fought as hard as she could for her family's sake but ultimately succumbed to her illness September 27, 2017 at 6:25 am in her home.

Cindy was born June 23, 1956 to Larry and Marie Gottschalk. She graduated from Coronado High School in Colorado Springs, CO in 1974. Later that year she met the love of her life, Tony McElwee, at a party. After an extended courtship (and 2 kids! Lol) they were married January 18th, 1978. During their nearly 40 years of marriage they had 3 wonderful kids: Cody, Tracy and Dee. They also have 5 beautiful grandchildren: Kyle, Alyssa, Danté, Savanah and Carter. We may not have had it all together, but together we had it all.

Cindy is also survived by all six of her siblings. Side by side or miles apart, sibling are connected by the heart. Teresa, Melody, Judy, Byron, Scott & Eddy she always carried you in her heart.

Cindy worked for various organizations during her time in Topeka, some of which included Hypermart (Walmart) on Wanamaker, U.S.D. 501 and finally Yellow Freight (YRC). She retired from Yellow Freight after 15 years of service. She spent the rest of her days spending time with her family and enjoying her grandchildren. She was very involved with her grandchildren's sports and activities. She was a very big part of their everyday life. She will be dearly missed and will forever live on in our hearts.

We will be celebrating the life of a Devoted Wife, Wonderful Mother, Exceptional Nana and Loving Sister/Friend this Wednesday, October 4th, 2017 from 10am – Noon at the Mount Hope located at 4700 SW 17th St, Topeka, KS 66604. If she touched your life like she touched ours we would love for you to join us.

If love alone could have spared her, she would have lived forever.


God saw you getting tired
A cure was not to be,
So he put his arms around you
And whispered "Come with Me."

With tearful eyes we watched you
And saw you fade away,
Although we loved you dearly
We could not make you stay

A golden heart stopped beating
Your tender heart at rest,
God took you home to prove to us
He only takes the best.