Mallory Jean Elizabeth Cortez

Mallory Jean Elizabeth Cortez, 29, of STL MO, passed away in Wichita, KS on April 9, 2026. Mallory was born to Tony and Dianna (Ballinger) Cortez on January 13, 1997, an impossibly-tiny baby with watchful green eyes that seemed large in her petite face. Masses of unruly, thick, dark curls that mirrored her father and frustrated her mother announced Mallory’s arrival into childhood, where she loved her friends deeply and could often be found stomping through a creek, looking for cool rocks, or cuddling her cats. In high school she found herself through skateboarding, choir, swim team, and lacrosse – a sport she played with a quickness and fierceness that belied her 5-foot, 100-pound stature. After graduation she moved to Wichita, KS to be near her older sister and soon landed a job as a pharmacy tech with Dillon’s, where coworkers across the state came to adore her. Mallory was a Tasmanian devil of laughter, light, energy, joy, and kindness with a genuine smile, infectious laugh, and lightning-fast wit that frequently left her friends and family in hysterics. She found inspiration in art and music, loved plants and Pokémon, felt most free with mountains and mushrooms. Her fashion sense was as interesting and eclectic as the rest of her. As she became an adult Mallory often went for tattoo therapy, and built tales of old friends, chapters in her life, interests, passions, and amusements into the designs that would eventually cover much of her pale skin; the addition of bees on her knees brought endless entertainment as she explained the joke with pixie-like glee. Friends and coworkers heard constantly about her four nephews, each of whom she loved ferociously. Mallory’s reminders to drink water and touch grass could be found scattered throughout her text messages, social media posts, and the flurry of handwritten and illustrated notes that she left in her wake at work, at friends’ houses, on fridges and bulletin boards, as though she’d appointed herself Ambassador of Good Vibes. No one would have denied her the title.

Mallory is preceded in death by her mother, Dianna Cortez; grandmother, Jean Coon; grandfather, John Ballinger, and uncle John Ballinger Jr.

She is survived by her father, Tony Cortez; sister, Casey Gird; nephews Ethan Frank, Dylan Frank, Roman Barnaby, and Cameron Barnaby; partner Alyssa Schnitker; aunts/uncles Ana Cortez, Niki Cortez, Christina Cortez, Rachel Cortez, John Cortez, Manny Cortez; grandmother Charlotte Cortez; adopted twin Esli Herrera, cats Bellatrix and Blick, a host of stand-in moms, aunties, grandmamas, and several many friends who became family.

A celebration of life will be held at ICT Farms, one of Mallory’s Happy Places, located at 935 W. 47th St. S., Wichita, KS 67217  as a come-and-go reception from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Friday, April 24, 2026. A second celebration of life will be held in St. Louis in the days that follow.