MARY PARKER COLE
Feb. 24, 1922-April 6, 2013
WILMINGTON -- Mary Parker Cole, 91, died April 6, 2013, in Wilmington, N.C.
She was born Feb. 24, 1922, in Goldsboro, N.C., the daughter of the late Mamie Daniels Parker and John Woodard Parker.
Mary Lillian, as she was known to her family, was a lifelong Methodist. Her formative years were spent attending Daniels Methodist Chapel, located on what is now Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.
She was a 1939 Goldsboro High School graduate.
Early in World War II, she met and married the late Arville Hubert Cole "Arky" of Searcy, Ark. They had two children both of whom survive, Mary Cole Brown of Poplar Bluff, Mo., and Susan Cole Livengood of Wilmington, N.C.
She is also survived by a brother, John W. Parker and his wife, Ann, of Wilmington; seven grandchildren, Melody (Jeff) Brumbaugh of Marietta, Ga., David (Teresa) Alberson of Memphis, Tenn., Darla Brown of Washington, D.C., Ben (Darla P.) Brown of Malden, Mo., Andrew (Kathy) Livengood of Garner, N.C., Matt Livengood of Portland, Ore., and Adam (Jamie) Livengood of Goldsboro.
She is also survived by eight great-grandchildren, four nephews and a niece.
She was predeceased by a sister, Sallie Parker Chambers.
During much of her adult life, she was an Air Force wife and stay-at-home mom, going wherever duty sent her husband, including tours in Hawaii and the Azores. She lived in Fayetteville, N.C., for more than 40 years.
She volunteered as a "pink lady" for 20 years, and then served 14 years as director of volunteers at Cape Fear Valley Hospital.
In retirement, she enjoyed taking organized tours of the United States.
She moved to Wilmington in 2009 to be closer to her daughter, Susie.
Visitation with the family will be held Friday evening from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Shumate-Faulk Funeral Home.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 13, 2013, in Daniels Memorial Methodist Church, followed by burial of the remains in the church cemetery off N.C. 111 near Goldsboro.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Daniels Memorial United Methodist Church, 2803 E. Ash St., Goldsboro, N.C., 27534, or to a charity of one's choice.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on April 11, 2013 1:48 PM