Funeral service for Mary Louise Garrett, age 88, of Montgomery, formerly of Decatur, will be Monday, April 11, 2016, 2:30 p.m. at Shelton Funeral Home Chapel with her nephew, Rod Hayes officiating. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service. Interment will be in Roselawn Cemetery.
Ms. Garrett, who died Thursday, April 7, 2016, at her residence, was born Jan. 24, 1928 in Town Creek, Alabama to Riley Garrett and Beulah Owen Garrett. She was preceded in death by her parents; and several siblings, Willard Rush Garrett, J.R. Garrett, Letha Ophelia Carter, Beatrice Butler Wheatcroft, and Edward Lyle Garrett.
After earning a Master of Social Work degree, Mary Louise served as a Social Worker with the Lawrence County Health Care Project, a five year program. Following this, she served as a Social Worker at the Lawrence Coundy Hospital. She later retired from the Social Services Department of Jackson Hospital in Montgomery.
Mary Louise’s faith home was St. Bede the Venerable Catholic Church in Montgomery, and she maintained Christian friendships across denominational lines.
Mary Louise was active in her community. She was a member of the Old Alabama Town Herb Society and helped maintain the Gardens in Old Alabama Town and at the Governor’s Mansion in Montgomery. She also volumteered in assisting international members of the armed services and their families toward becoming acculturated to American life. She was beloved in her neighborhood of Capitol Heights, serving as a de facto “grandmother” to many neighborhood children, and she enjoyed entertaining and socializing with her many friends who remember her as “a real Southern Lady”.
She is survived by her brother, Robert Ray Garrett (Marilyn), of Athens; two sisters, Betty Sue Hayes (Odean), of Trinity and Mildred G. Rogers, of Decatur, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
Pallbearers will be friends and family.
In lieu of flowers, the family request that friends please remember Mary Louise through contributions to their favorite charitable organization.
Guestbook available at www.sheltonfuneralhome.net
