Mary Alma Browning Lester, of Acworth, age 91, transitioned peacefully to her heavenly home on March 6, 2019 with family at her side. She was born November 19, 1927, to John William and Mary Alma Preston Browning in the family home in Jackson, Georgia. Mary was preceded in death by her parents; her husband of 50 years, Colonel Lester; her sisters, Maggie Ruth Browning Peed and Annie Lois Browning Grabey ; and brothers, John William Browning, Jr. and James Oscar Browning.
Mary learned from an early age the importance of faith, family and hard work, values she carried with her throughout her life. She grew up attending Pleasant Grove Congregational Methodist Church, just across the road from her house, and it was there that she accepted Jesus Christ as her savior. At home, she helped with chores around the house and farm and cared for her younger sister, Bettie. While always responsible, occasionally she was known to do the unexpected, such as driving the farm’s milk truck, without a license (or permission) up the road or hitchhiking from Atlanta to Jackson with friends from nursing school to visit her family! Her life from youth, though, was characterized by an unwavering trust in God, love of the Bible, and faithful and earnest prayer.
After graduating from high school, Mary enrolled in nursing school at Georgia Baptist Hospital as part of the Army Nurse Corps. It was there that she met her future husband, Colonel Lester, who was a patient. Though Mary had to quit nursing school to do so, they were married on September 12, 1947, in East Point, their home for the next fifty years. They had three daughters and Mary enjoyed life as a stay-at-home mother. She was active in East Point First Methodist Church and often organized meals and flowers for neighbors in the event of a death or sickness. When all the children were school age, she went to work in the office of a side business her husband and a friend had formed – Fliptail Fishing Lures.
After her youngest child began college, Mary courageously went back to school herself to finish her degree in nursing. When asked about her decision, she said, “It always bothered me that I started something and didn’t finish it!” After graduating, she worked on the floor and as an administrative nurse at South Fulton Hospital in East Point for 15 years before retiring in 1992. Following Colonel’s death in 1997, Mary re-located to Union City, GA. There, she was a member of First Baptist Church Jonesboro and greatly enjoyed her Sunday School class, senior adult choir and Saints Alive senior group.
Mary is survived by her daughters, Margaret Elizabeth (Chris) Kitchens of Acworth, GA, Mary Lynn (Harold) Eubank of Appling, GA, and Marie Aileen Stroop, of Thompson’s Station, TN; sister, Bettie Sue Browning O’Neal; 9 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren. Memorial donations may be made to First Baptist Jonesboro, 142 College Street, Jonesboro, GA 30236.
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