Mary Frances Leahy Darrouzet

Mary France Leahy of Dallas, TX, born January 22, 1922, in Wichita, Kansas, passed away December 10, 2019. Mary was greatly loved and admired by generations of family and friends, from her early decades in Kansas to her eight decades in Dallas, as well as long stays in Southern California with her daughter Madeleine and family. Mary, known to her family as Grandmere, was and remains a beacon of love, with her deep faith in the Lord, empathy, wisdom and finest spirits bringing out the best in everyone she met, in all walks of life.

Preceded in death by her beloved husband of 55 years, John Louis Darrouzet, Sr., her grandmother, Anne Moore Threlfall, her mother, Rosemary Ruth Threlfall Leahy (Nanna), her father, Michael Leo Leahy, her brothers and sisters (and in-laws): Michael (Zoe) and Robert (Molly), Rosemary Brunner (Ed), Helen Nassour (Ed), nephews Patrick Brunner and Robert Leahy, her brothers-in-law Jim Jenkins and Jacques Darrouzet, and sister-in-law Maura Darrouzet.

Survived by her six children John (Lynne), Robert, Chris (Barbara), Daniel (Ingrid), Madeleine (Mario), Michael (Anne). Her sister, Theresa 'Terry' Jenkins. Her 17 grandchildren: Jennifer, Sarah, Claire, John IV, Hunter, Anthony, Christopher, Jeanette, Louis, Peter, Genevieve, Stephen, Anna, Mary, Lauren, Elisabeth, Melanie. Her great-grandchildren: Duncan, Alan, Drake, Cara, Lionel, Lythia, Lila, Lorien, Liliana, Louis, William, Oliver, Amelia, Henry. Nieces and Nephews: Deirdre, Linda Gay, Michael, Zoe, Elizabeth, Tina, Michael, Joan, Jim, Nancy, and David. Her French relatives: Bertrand and Anne Darrouzet.

Growing up in Wichita and Hutchinson, Kansas, Mary recounted wonderful times growing up in small-town America, including assisting her grandfather who ran a general store in Hutchinson. Among Mary's many wonderful memories are her high school years spent boarding at Mount Carmel Academy, outside Wichita. In the late 1930s, the Leahy family moved to Austin, Texas, where, at age 18, Mary first met John Darrouzet. Mary attended the University of Texas and worked in the Texas Senate for the Lt. Governor. She married John in 1943, in Fresno, California, where he was stationed in the US Army. With John serving in Europe in WWII, Mary joined her Leahy family after they moved to Dallas. At war's end, she and John settled in University Park and started their family. Mary enjoyed many years with her family as members of Christ the King Catholic Church. In the summer of 1958, with her twin children about to be born, Mary and family moved to North Dallas where she would live for the next 30+ years. She and John were founding parishioners of St. Rita Catholic Community where she was active in many of the Parish’s organizations throughout her life. She had a strong devotion to Our Blessed Mother and a rosary was never far from her reach.

Throughout her middle years, Mary's life featured raising her six children and creating a remarkable and wonderful extended family life with her two sisters, Rosemary and Terry, and their families; as well as keeping close and caring relations with her brothers' families in Wichita Falls and San Antonio, and with John's family in Austin. In many ways, Mary became a humble but extremely capable and happy 'matriarch' in this large and loving family. Mary also developed dozens of close friends in Dallas. These rich bonds formed a web of caring and happy lives. With her children grown and out of the house, Mary worked for a few years at several businesses at the Dallas World Trade Center. She traveled to Europe with John and members of the family on several occasions; as well as with her sisters and others in recent years. In her later years, she showed us all how to deal graciously with great loss and with the difficulties of aging, illness and death. We are grateful to her physicians, nurses and caregivers for their compassionate care.

Rosary/Visitation will be held on Sunday, December 15, at 7:00PM at St. Rita Catholic Church, 12521 Inwood Rd., Dallas, Texas 75244. Mass of Christian Burial on Monday, December 16 at 12:00 Noon at St. Rita.

In lieu of flowers, donations to St. Rita Catholic Community, Catholic Charities, or a charity of your choice.