Mrs. Mary Kate Carter Barclay, age 97 was born June 15, 1925 in Section, Alabama to John Breckenridge and Ethel Nix Carter. Mary Kate graduated from Jackson County High School in 1942 and later attended Berea College. She worked in Oak Ridge, Tennessee during the Secret City Era. She went on to teach in Jackson County Schools during which time she married the love of her life, J.O. Barclay. Afterwards she started and setup the Medical Records Department at Jackson County Hospital, now Highlands Medical Center . She retired from TVA and worked part time with the Jackson County District Attorney’s office.
Her volunteer work included establishing the VFW Auxiliary and served as its first President. She was a founding member of the Three Arts Club and also served as President. She volunteered with 1st Baptist Church where she taught Sunday school for decades. She also served as one of the first women jurors in Jackson County.
One of her favorite pastimes was making boiled custard for ill friends and family. She was admired for her compassion and strength of conviction. She was also a strong patriot due to her family members who served our country in combat. These included her husband, her brother, her son, 2 grandsons and the two husbands of granddaughters.
She was preceded in death by her parents, John and Ethel Carter, her brother, John B. Carter Jr., her sister, Barbara Carter Nichols and her beloved husband, James Oliver Barclay, Jr. (J.O).
She is survived by her 3 children, Becky Drummond Kellenberger (John), Beverly Bell (John), and James Oliver Barclay III (Debbie Karrh); eight grandchildren, Will Drummond, Claire Drummond Stroud, Mary Margaret Barclay Purdy, James Oliver Barclay IV, William Karrh Barclay, Lauren Bell Fowler, Emily Bell Smith and Jamie Bell LeBeau. She is also survived by 12 great grandchildren, Jackson, Addison, Lily Kate, Quenton, Cooper, Emerson, Oliver, James, Eleanor, Amelia, Collins and Mary Barclay.
Visitation will be held at Scottsboro Funeral Home on Wednesday, September 14, 2022 from 12:30 p.m. until 2 p.m. A graveside service will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery at 3 p.m. Pallbearers are her grandsons, Will Drummond, Jackson Purdy, Jae Barclay, Cooper Purdy, Quenton Barclay, Bill Barclay and Oliver Purdy. Honorary Pallbearers, Jerry king and Pat Presley
