Mary Ann Gotcher McCoy passed away on Sept. 25, 2017, in Birmingham, Alabama at age 89. She was predeceased by her husband, James Howard McCoy; her parents, Will and Annie Lee Gotcher; brother and sister-in-law, John and Mae Gotcher; brother and sister-in-law, Billy and Sarah Gotcher; and sister-in-law, Joan Gotcher.
She is survived by her children, Carol McCoy, Jim (Lynn) McCoy, Marie (Ken) Watts, and Freida McCoy; her grandchildren, Eileen (Jeff) Propes, Catherine McCoy, and Thomas McCoy; her brother, Lee Mac Gotcher; and cousins, nieces, nephew, great-nieces, and great-nephews.
She was born in Sheffield in the Ford City area and was a long term resident of Leighton, Alabama. She graduated with honors from Colbert County High School in Leighton and from Florence State Teachers College (now the UNA) with her B.A. degree at age 20. Subsequently she returned to UNA and earned her M.A. in Secondary Education with concentrations in social studies and English. She also received a short-term Fulbright Fellowship to study in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She taught for 27 years focusing on American government and economics at Colbert County High School.
Ever the proponent of the value of education and civic involvement, she was a member and officer of the Leighton Study Club and of two national professional sororities for women educators, Alpha Delta Kappa and Delta Kappa Gama. She served for many years as an active supporter and board member of the Leighton Public Library and pursued her ongoing interest in politics at all levels as an election official for Colbert County voting. After her retirement from teaching, she continued this pattern of learning and civic involvement through her active participation in UNA’s Institute for Learning in Retirement, her world travels and as a RSVP volunteer throughout the Shoals area particularly loving her volunteer work at the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in Tuscumbia.
She was a devoted member of Shady Grove United Methodist Church from childhood until her death and was very active in Methodist women’s ministries in her local church as well as at the district, state, and regional levels. After moving to Lakeview Estates Assisted Living in Baptist Church in Homewood, Alabama.
Her family wishes to thank her Shady Grove church friends for their continued loving contact with her during her time in Birmingham, Wanda Mayhall and all of her Dawson Memorial Homebound visitors and the staffs of Lakeview Estates, Brookdale University Place Skilled Nursing Care and ComfortCare Hospice.
Visitation will be today from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at Morrison Funeral Home, Tuscumbia. The funeral service will be Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017, at 11 a.m. in the funeral home chapel, with burial following in Colbert Memorial Gardens.
Memorials may be made to Shady Grove United Methodist Church, 7525 River Rd., Muscle Shoals, AL 35661 or to an education-related charity of your choice.
Please visit morrisonfuneralhomes.com to leave online condolences for the McCoy family.
