Mary Jean Chamberlain

Mary Jean CHAMBERLAIN, age 89, of Gardendale, Alabama passed away on Friday June 29, 2018. Mary was born August 16, 1928. Mary Jean is preceded in death by her parents and five siblings. She is survived by two sons: Robert Wolfe (Dale, deceased) and Terry Adcock; daughter, Janet Parker (Gene);

Grandchildren: Amy Bullard, Chris Wolfe and Julie Parker and two great grandchildren Makenzie and Caleb Bullard; seven nieces and eight nephews, and several great nieces and nephews.

Mary Jean was born in 1928, the youngest of five siblings. She was born with a zest for life and it never faded. She told us many colorful stories of life with her roving and somewhat unconventional family. She moved all over the country with them and went to more schools then we could count.

Mary Jean learned at a young age to be tough in order to survive the life they lived.

She said there was a time she might not have survived her early childhood had it not been for her older sister Carlene. Mary Jean was very determined when she set her mind to something and decided at age 10 that she needed some spending money so she went out on her own and got a job washing and starching curtains for the neighbor women and collecting and selling grease that was used by the military just prior to WWII. Her older siblings often wondered why she had money to go to the movies when they didn’t.

She had a special way of making you laugh if you were down, a strong sense of humor, a mischievous spirit and you could count on getting a good laugh if you were around her. So even though she could at times be rough around the edges, her children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews and friends loved her deeply.

Mary Jean loved animals, the elderly and the disenfranchised. She loved the unlovely. While she had many talents, her love was cooking. She baked everything from scratch and cooked a wide variety of ethnic dishes, as well as southern soul food. Around age 60, after working 10 years as a cook for various Mississippi River tugboat crews, she discovered a new gift: caring for the elderly. She loved those in her care and brightened their lives with her light-hearted spirit.

She spent her final years living at Magnolia Ridge Nursing Home. She was confined to bed those four years but she was good at making the best of whatever situation she found herself in. She continued to keep up with politics, sports and was the onsite food critic. She nicknamed all the nurses and aides, teased everyone and generally kept things stirred up in a fun sort of way. She and her roommate Bobbie Marsh, became devoted friends, and “took care of each other.” They passed away about three weeks apart and we’re sure they are celebrating their new life today.

The family wishes to express to all the staff on the West Wing of Magnolia Ridge Nursing Home our gratitude for the excellent care. You were her caregivers but more importantly her friends. She felt at home with you.

Thank you Pastor Dwight DeNegly for faithfully visiting and ministering to our beloved mother.

She no longer is roving, but enjoying her eternal home.

A graveside service for Mary will be held Monday, July 2, 2018 from 10:00 AM to 10:30 AM at Johns-Ridout's Mortuary-Elmwood Chapel, 800 Dennison Ave Sw, Birmingham, AL 35211. A burial will occur at Elmwood Cemetery & Mausoleum, 600 Martin Luther King Jr Dr, Birmingham, Alabama 35211.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.johnsridoutselmwoodchapel.com for the CHAMBERLAIN family.