Mary Louise Sumner

She was born July 31, 1923, in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, the daughter of Master Sergeant Matthew Cabble and Louise Snyder Earl.

She was a graduate of both Thomas Edison High School 1940 and Trinity University 1943, where she earned the credentials of a Registered Medical Technologist.

She met her devoted husband Fred William Sumner, Jr. on a blind date on Christmas Eve in 1942; they married September 8, 1943.

She was an active volunteer in Samuel Maverick Elementary, Horace Mann Junior High School and Thomas Jefferson High School PTAs. Once her daughters were away at college, she resumed her career with Medical Associates in the Nix Building.

She was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church for over forty years, where she served on the Vestry and Altar Guild. However, she was most proud of years of volunteer work with the Trinity Shopette.

She recently joined St. Luke's Episcopal Church, and continued with the Green Door until her illness prohibited such work.

She and her husband, Fred, were members of Oak Hills Country Club for over 30 years.

She enjoyed her volunteer work, but most especially she loved a good game of bridge. She was a member of numerous bridge clubs, including the Tuesday Card Club, which originated in 1950.

She will be remembered for her love of family, passion for cooking and entertaining, devotion to a wide circle of friends and a good read. She was preceded in death by her brother, Jerry, and parents Matthew and Louise Earl.

Survivors include Fred, her husband of sixty-five years, daughter Janice Castleberry and her husband Joe, and daughter Barbara O'Connell and her husband Pat. Additional survivors include her sister-in-law Margaret Earl, niece Mary Ann Pigott and nephew Jerry "Butch" Earl.

She is survived by her grandchildren - those who knew and loved her as "G-Mom" - Caroline Cancellare and her husband Richard; Christopher O'Connell; Tricia O'Connell; and Travis Castleberry and wife Elizabeth.

Mary Louise also doted lovingly on her two great-grandchildren, CeCelia and Nina Cancellare.

A private burial will be held during the week. Memorial donations should be sent to St. Luke's Episcopal Church or South Texas Accelerated Research Therapeutics START, 4319 Medical Drive, Suite 205, San Antonio, TX 78229.