On the evening of May 14, 2019, Mary James Patton Dendy passed away peacefully, at the age of 95, in her home with her family by her side. She was preceded in death by her father and mother, James William and Martha Silsbee Patton, her sister, Melba Peterson and her husband William Floyd Dendy.
Mary James was born on August 14, 1923 in the small town of Jemison, Alabama. As children, she and her sister, Melba “Bubber” enjoyed many hours of imaginary play with their paper dolls in “Patton District”. Mary James, affectionately known by her sister as “Moppy”, loved her home in Jemison despite the difficult years her family faced during the Great Depression.
Determined to continue her education beyond high school, Mary James was accepted into and attended Jacksonville State Teachers College. During this time, World War II began and so did her courtship with William Floyd Dendy. They exchanged many love letters while Floyd was stationed overseas. These treasured letters have been safely kept in Floyd’s footlocker for over 70 years.
During World War II, many sacrifices had to be made. For Mary James, this meant delaying her college education and helping her country on the home-front by teaching on an emergency teaching certificate. Mary James taught for a short while then married her wartime sweetheart, William Floyd Dendy, on July 15, 1945, not long after the war ended.
After getting married, Floyd and Mary James moved to Anniston so that Floyd could complete his service at Fort McClellan. Wanting to complete their education, Floyd and Mary James returned to Jacksonville State. During this time, Floyd and Mary James were blessed with the arrival of their first child, Amelia. This arrival began Mary James’s life-long career as a devoted mother. Five years later, a second daughter, Mary, arrived, completing their family of four.
The family of four created their permanent home in Huntsville, Alabama. Here, Mary James would live for 63 years, raising her two daughters, watching them grow into wives and mothers. She instilled in them a love of music, art and songbirds. It was rare to hear her without a song, such as “Sunny Side of the Street” or “Blue Skies”, on her lips or a quote from her Pa; if you were down in the dumps, you were “dis-die-dump-ta-pa-ted” and you needed to “keep on keeping on because nothing was so bad, that it couldn’t be worse.” She often wished she could find her magic wand to whisk away any troubles that one might have.
One of the most memorable events in Mary James’s life was going to Ireland with her niece, Elizabeth Ann. It fulfilled a dream of visiting her ancestors’ homeland. She embraced her Irish roots and shared that love with her family. She often showed her love of poetry and Ireland through quoting Irish blessings. As we say good-bye, we send her our love, prayers and words of an Irish blessing…
“May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon on your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.”
Mary James is survived by two daughters, Amelia Bhatnagar and Mary Weatherford (husband, Michael); five grandchildren, Neal Bhatnagar (wife, Maggie), Myra Bhatnagar (husband, Nicholas), Shannon Hoyle (husband, Michael), Patrick Weatherford, Kyle Weatherford (wife, Katherine) and six great-grandchildren, Zoe Bhatnagar, Kira Bhatnagar, Erin Shelton, Bailey Shelton, Lily Shelton and Killian Weatherford.
Visitation will be from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18 at Laughlin Service Funeral Home. A graveside service will follow at 3 p.m. at Maple Hill Cemetery with Bryan Martin officiating.
