MaryBeth Stoner Craft, 94 years old, greatly loving and greatly loved daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, greatgrandmother, friend, English teacher at William Carey College in Hattiesburg, MS, high school French teacher at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, LA, published author, loan closing officer, singer, dancer, and piano player, passed away peacefully on Sunday, July 14, 2019 at home in Moody, AL where she had been happily living with her daughter Susan Vickerstaff for the past few years. Susan eagerly welcomed her and her home became their home.
MaryBeth was born on Jan. 10, 1925 in Hattiesburg, MS. She was a graduate of Hattiesbugh High School, The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, and The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
She is preceded in death by her beloved husband Harvey Milton Craft and other loved ones including her parents, John Milton Stoner and Ruth Whitehurst Stoner, son in law Hugh Vickerstaff, daughter in law Martha Craft, and grandson Nicholas Garrett.
Left missing her and cherishing her memory are her children, Susan Craft Vickerstaff, Cynthia Craft, John Craft and Nancy Chachere Craft, and Stephen Craft; her grandchildren Cindy and Doug Moffett, Michael and Louise Ritter, Ben and Lynnette Craft, Jack and Lindsay Craft, Sam Craft, Maya Craft, and Kaitlyn Craft; and her greatgrandchildren, Spencer Moffett, Lauren Moffett, Cole Ritter, ClaraKate Ritter, and Lyra Craft. Also many other relatives and friends, especially her friend Rosemary Hughes.
A stroke 2 years ago left our MaryBeth/ Mom/Grandma/GiGi with limited mobility .Thank you to Susan whose kind loving care helped Mom keep having a full, fun, happy life. Thank you to St. Vincent's Home Health and Hospice. Thank you also to Deborah Isbell, Kate Allen, and Britt Watkins from Home Instead for their loving cheerful help.
We know she is in Heaven now, happily reunited with loved ones who went before. We know that she and her Harvey, our Dad/Grandpa, are so happy to be together again, and she is happily back in her place next to him. We can almost hear her big joyful laugh, and his. We know she is watching over us, waving at us, smiling her big smile and saving us a place.
She greeted each day of her life with humor, joy, a loving heart, and a generous spirit. We will miss her cheerful presence and her love. We are grateful for her long life.
If there is a Heavenly Choir, we know that she is still singing joyfully to the Lord. And we know that when God lovingly welcomed her to Heaven and thought about how she lived her life and used her talents, he must have said, "Well done, MaryBeth. You did great."
The funeral for MaryBeth Craft will be at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 20, 2019 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Columbus, MS. Visitation will be at St. Paul's from noon-1:00. Following the funeral she will be buried in Friendship Cemetery in Columbus next to her husband, Harvey Craft.
A memorial service celebrating her life will be held at St. Philip's Episcopal Church in New Orleans, LA on Saturday August 3, 2019 at 11:00 a.m.
If anyone would like to make a donation in her memory, we thank you. Please choose your favorite charity or please consider one of these:
The Harvey M. Craft Memorial Scholarship at Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, MS;
Covenant House, New Orleans; The National Multiple Sclerosis Society; Breast Cancer Research; The American Heart Association; The SPCA; St. Philip's Episcopal Church, New Orleans; The Episcopal Chapel of the Holy Comforter, New Orleans; or St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Columbus, MS
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