Mary L Mizell

Mary, devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother is survived by her husband, Al; son, Michael (wife, Shannon); daughters, Laureen and Susan (husband, Carlo); granddaughters, Susan (husband, Dumard), Lindsay (husband, Tim), and Cristina (25); grandsons, Paul (wife, Tania) and Giancarlo (18); great-granddaughters, Colden (14), Ashlynn (14), Kara (11), and Freya (7); great-grandsons, Bennie (15), Logan (15), and River (5 weeks).

Mary attended Miami Jackson High School. She graduated from the University of Miami in 1955 and married her high school sweetheart, Thomas Bellar. When Tommy passed away in 1959, Mary moved back to Miami with Mike (2) and Laurie (1) to be near her parents and older sister Edy. Mary taught Home Economics at Rockway Junior High School. She began dating the science teacher (Al) and they were married on June 11, 1960, at South Miami Methodist Church. Al adopted Mike and Laurie in 1961 and Susie was born in 1966. The family moved to Bloomington in 1968 where Al earned his Doctorate in Education before relocating to Columbia, Maryland.

In 1978, Al, Mary and Susie moved back to South Florida. While Al began his new teaching position at Nova University, Mary taught kindergarten for a year and then began teaching reading at The University School of Nova University. While working there, she earned her Doctor of Education degree and became the Director of both the Middle and Upper Schools at USchool. In 1998, after 19 years, Mary retired to help care for her granddaughter Cristina, who was born 6 weeks after Mary’s retirement party. A few months later, Mary began working for Nova University, supervising administrative internships for teachers earning their graduate degrees in educational administration.

Mary was known and loved by both students and staff at the University School and remained friends with many of them after her retirement. Mary’s kindness, compassion, sense of humor and supportive leadership made everyone around her feel understood, appreciated, and loved. She loved to play the piano, cook, sew, and do cross-stitch. In recent years, Mary developed a fondness for coloring and could often be seen surrounded by markers and colored pencils! She loved to host family gatherings and spending time with friends.

Church held a special place in Mary’s heart, and her years at HHUMC were incredibly special to her. Despite moving to Weston in 1996, Al & Mary continued to drive to Hollywood several times a week to participate in church activities with their friends and HHUMC family.

Her legacy, a quilt woven from love and generosity, will forever grace the lives of those she touched. A Celebration of Mary’s Life will be held on Saturday, September 23, 2023, at Hollywood Hills United Methodist Church (400 N 35th Avenue - Hollywood). The service will be at 11:00am, followed by a reception from noon – 2:30pm. Inurnment will take place at 3:30pm at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens (2401 Davie Road – Davie).

In honor of Mary’s giving spirit, the family invites contributions to the HHUMC Mary Mizell Memorial Fund in lieu of flowers. We invite her family, friends, and former colleagues and students to join us at the reception where we will be sharing favorite funny and uplifting stories, ensuring her memory lives on in the hearts she touched.

As we celebrate Mary’s life, let us remember that her spirit, her love, and her legacy will forever be a source of comfort and inspiration to us all.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.forestlawnsouth.com for the Mizell family.