Mary Louise Ogletree McConnell

Mary Louise Ogletree McConnell born December 21, 1916 went to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on December 29, 2013 a the age of 97 years. She was a native of Birmingham, AL and a resident of Mobile, AL for 60 years. She was preceded in death by her parents, Sally Maude Kyle Ogletree and Baldwin Fluker Ogletree, her husband, James Vincent McConnell, Sr., her son, James Vincent McConnell, Jr., her older brother and three of her four sisters.

She is survived by her daughter, May Lou McConnell Layden (Lionel), her son, Eddie McConnell (Mitzi),both of Mobile, her sister, Colleen Ogletree Childress of Sharpsburg, GA and nine grandchildren: James Vincent McConnell, III (Lynn), Fairhope; Mitch McConnell (Clare), Fairhope; Stan McConnell (Anna), Mobile; Baker McConnell, Mobile; Ginger Layden Braun (Dan), San Francisco, CA; Laura Layden Cassidy (Bill), Baton Rouge, LA; Lisa Layden Pelham (Marc), Mobile; Melissa McConnell Fuselier (Prentice), New Orleans, LA; and Kimberlee McConnell Duck (Jeremy), Birmingham, AL. She is also survived by twenty-two great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

The oldest of five girls with an older brother, she helped her ill Mother care for her younger siblings. Growing up during the “Great Depression”, she would sew clothes for her sisters, making a skirt from a man’s used coat, saving her ten cent lunch money to buy a yard of fabric to make a blouse. She met her future husband, Jim McConnell, while attending Ramsey High School (in Birmingham). They married on June 21, 1936 and in the early years lived in Birmingham and briefly in Mobile and Pensacola. They came back to Mobile permanently in 1954 when Jim purchased Trail Pontiac-Cadillac, which remains in the family as McConnell Buick-GMC. Louise remained Jim’s loving and loyal wife for fifty-eight years until his death in 1994.

Louise became a Christian at the age of ten and, as she said, “He has held my hand ever since”.

She taught Sunday School at Springhill Baptist Church for decades, was later a member of Cottage Hill Baptist Church and an outstanding witness in Christ to her family and friends. She was a member of Luke 4:18 Fellowship in the last few years.

She was a founding member of the Wimbledon Garden Club. She took much pride and pleasure in this Association and also served as its President twice. She loved to work in her yard and always had a small vegetable garden and a large rose garden. She was a member of the Mobile Botanical Gardens and the Mobile Museum of Art for many years and the International Ikebana Association. She was also a member of the Sumi-e Society of America. A multi-talented amateur artist, she painted in watercolor and oils, however, her favorite art form was china painting.

She became a golfer in her forties and enjoyed the game for many years, playing with Jim and his friends and competing with the men. She won numerous trophies in Tournament competitions.

All of her children attended the University of Alabama and she was an avid fan of the Crimson Tide. A great country cook, the entire family enjoyed her table. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, the whole family would gather to enjoy her cooking and on Christmas Eve she would tell us the “Real Story of Christmas” and lead us all in a prayer. The true matriarch of her family, she was a loving and devoted Mother, Grandmother and Great-Grandmother. Louise was ready to lend a hand or an ear to her family and friends, and always wanted to help others. She was generous with her possessions and time, patient, loyal and loving. Her greatest mission in life was to follow Christ Jesus in her speech and in her ways and to raise her family in a way that would honor Him.

The family would like to give thanks to all of her Doctors and Nurses, with a special thanks to our dear family friend, Dr. Gerry Phillips and we also offer our heartfelt thanks to Louise’s long-time friends and caregivers, Naughne (Nita) Reid Kiel and Renie Mae Doyle, as well as loving caregivers Dianne Kilpatrick, Jonneta Miller, Cassandra Hawthorne, Lee and Payton Davis, and Glynis Winchester.

A celebration of life memorial service will be held at Dauphin Way Baptist Church, Mobile, AL, 3661 Dauphin Street, Mobile, AL on Saturday, January 4, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. with visitation from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Luke 4:18 Fellowship, 2664 Sollie Rd., Mobile, AL 36695; Mitchell Cancer Center, 1660 Springhill Ave, Mobile, AL 36604; Dauphin Way Baptist Church or your favorite charity.