Mary Stuart Dalton Bland

April 23, 1960 – October 16, 2011

Mary Stuart grew up in Waynesboro, Virginia. She attended Waynesboro High School and went on to complete a BA at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Early in life Mary Stuart loved horseback riding and especially jumping. She finished a Masters in Music (Voice) at North Texas State University in Denton, Texas. After she married in 1988, she moved to Atlanta, Georgia.

Early in her career, she devoted her life to music. She was an instructor of music at Clayton State College for several years, but her passion was performing on stage. She sang the lead roles in the Southeastern Savoyards productions of The Mikado and HMS Pinafore. She sang the lead in several other Atlanta productions including West Side Story, Music Man, Amahl and the Night Visitors, and The Old Maid and the Thief, among others. She was a lead singer for the Capitol City Opera company. She was also a regular member of the Atlanta Opera Chorus from 1988 to 1997.

Mary Stuart was an avid tennis player, runner, swimmer, snow skier, water skier and triathlete. She was a member of several ALTA women’s doubles championship teams including 1998, 2008, and 2010. She ran the Peachtree Road Race every year and the Atlanta Half Marathon twice. She swam regularly at 5:30AM with the Georgia Masters Killer Whales.

Mary Stuart was a ski instructor at Wintergreen, Virginia and a Senior Patroller at Snowshoe, West Virginia. In 2010, she placed 2nd in the Snowshoe Cupp Run ski race and 1st in the snowboarding race.

Her most recent passion was competing in triathlons. She was a champion in her age group in several races, including: 2nd place (2009) and 1st place (2010) American Red Cross triathlon; 1st place (2009) and 2nd place (2010) Roanoke Valley YMCA triathlon ; 1st place (2010) West Point Lake Olympic Distance triathlon; 1st (2010) and 3rd (2011) Smith Mountain Lake triathlon; 3rd (2010) and 2nd (2011) Jekyll Island Turtle Crawl; 1st (2010) Madison Georgia Fitness Center; among several others.

Mary Stuart is survived by her husband, James Walter Bland III, and her two children, James Walter Bland IV and Carolyn Dalton Bland of Atlanta, her mother and father, Tom and Carol Dalton of Waynesboro, Virginia, and her brother, Bill Dalton; other family members are Jim and Nancy Bland, and Hank and Sally Fielding of Atlanta, and Carter and Robin Bland of Basalt, Colorado, and many other loving family members around the country.

A memorial service for Mary Stuart will be held at Trinity Presbyterian Church (3003 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta) on Thursday, October 20, at 2:00PM. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to your favorite local charity in memory of Mary Stuart. The family would like to thank all their wonderful family and friends for their love, support and prayers.