Mary Jo Coselli

Mary Jo Redding Coselli was born to Mary Lee Barrett and Joe Edward Redding on the 5th of May 1936, in Goose Creek, Texas. She shined as the eldest of four siblings and loved her three younger brothers: James E. “Buck” Redding and twins Robert E. “Bob” Redding and William D. “Bill” Redding.

The family soon moved to Victoria which was an idyllic setting for her charmed childhood. She excelled at school and was a top tennis player and varsity cheer leader at Victoria High School. She still loves watching sports on TV.

She began her college career at Mary Baldwin College in Virginia, continued at the University of Mexico City and finished with a degree in teaching from the University of Houston where she was active in student life and the Chi Omega sorority and met her beloved husband of sixty-two years, Richard Coselli.

Before she married, she did graduate studies in Vienna, Austria then returned to Victoria for her student teaching, taught at Lamar High School in Houston and was ultimately hired by the Texas Education Agency in Austin, where she helped form policy on teaching methods.

She married Richard in 1962, and they started their family in Houston where he was practicing law. She is proud of her three children Mary Bea, Catherine, and Richard.

She played tennis at The Briar Club, served as a docent and leader at Bayou Bend for many years, volunteered countless hours at St. Michael’s and St. Thomas High School and even chaired the Parent Association at Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart.

A gracious hostess, she loved bringing family together and hosted an annual Christmas party that became a cherished tradition. Alongside business partner Barbara Robertson, she established an elegant boutique in the Galleria. A committed genealogist, she was a patriotic member of the John McKnitt Alexander Chapter of the NSDAR and a devoted member of the Colonneh Auxiliary.

She was never without an adored family dog and somewhere in there she gained her Master Gardner designation with the TAMU AgriLife Extension Service. She walked three miles nearly every day until she was in her eighties and was a voracious reader, treasuring over forty years of fellowship with her book club friends.

Mary Jo’s adventurous spirit took her across the world. She delighted in traveling with her family, exploring the Lower 48, Mexico, her family ranch in south Texas, Hawaii, river trips through Hell’s Canyon, Russia and several trips to England, France, and Italy. She even flew on the Concord from Paris to New York, sailed the Mediterranean with friends, hunted in Argentina and cruised the Amazon River.

As a child she and her family drove drilling rigs to Calgary, Canada. They vacationed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and she continued that tradition in later years with her family. She loved a good road trip - driving her children and later her grandchildren on infamous and frequent treks across this great country. Yet, her happiest moments were often spent closer to home at the family farm in Chappell Hill.

She is survived by her husband, Richard Coselli; her children, Mary Bea Wickman and her husband Wayne Gilbert Wickman, Jr., Catherine Barrett Rentz and her husband John Kenworthy Rentz, and Richard Joseph Coselli and his wife Jennifer Payne Coselli; her grandchildren, Wayne Gilbert Wickman III, Barrett Beatrice Wickman, John Richard “Jack” Rentz, George Coselli Rentz, and Adam Payne Coselli; her brothers, Bill and Bob Redding; and numerous beloved nephews and nieces.

A Mass of Christian Burial is to be offered at ten o’clock in the morning on Monday, the 10th of February, at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, 1801 Sage Road in Houston, where the Rev. Peter Wood is to celebrate.

Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception in the nearby Parish Life Center.

The family will gather at a later time for a private Rite of Committal at Glenwood Cemetery in Houston.

In lieu of customary remembrances, please consider a donation in Mary Jo’s memory to Duchesne Academy’s Sister Lucy Lamy Scholarship Endowment at www.duchesne.org/lamy or St. Thomas High School’s Tuition Assistance Program.

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