Funeral Services for Mary "Meme" Frances Cotton Pettigrew, 84, will be held at 1:00 PM on Saturday, April 3rd, 2021 at Hill Crest Memorial Funeral Home Chapel located at 601 US-80 East Haughton, LA 71037. Interment will immediately follow the service at Liberty Baptist Church Cemetery located at 425 Liberty Church Rd. Coushatta, LA 71019. Visitation will be held from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM for the public and beginning at 11:00 AM for the family. Refreshments will be served.
Mary Cotton Pettigrew was born April 2nd, 1936 in Red River Parish and passed away on March 31, 2021 in Bossier City, LA.
Mary was preceded in death by her parents, John Bernard Cotton and Helen Elliott Cotton; her three young brothers, Jack, Jerry, and Walter; her sister Audrey Bess Lincoln; her infant son, Martin Elliot Pettigrew, and her husband of 66 years, Billy L. Pettigrew.
She is survived by her son, John C. Pettigrew and wife, Kim Pettigrew; granddaughter, Leigh Pettigrew-Kirkpatrick and husband, T.A. Kirkpatrick; great-grandchildren, Tucker Williams, and Presley Kirkpatrick; sister, Lou Ellen Powell; as well as a host of loving extended family including nieces, nephews, cousins, neighbors, and friends.
Mary Pettigrew lived a blessed life with good health for many years. Only after her husband, Billy, became ill and subsequently passed away did she seem-to lose her strength of will to carry on. She followed Billy to his final resting place within eighty days of his passing and that was the longest they had ever been apart.
Mary and Billy married after graduating from Coushatta High School in 1954 and remained together thereafter. They both loved their schoolmates and enjoyed participating in regular reunions for decades to come. Over the years, Mary enjoyed bowling competitively, attending car races and riding motorcycles with Billy. She rarely missed a basketball or football game on TV. She never missed a weekly hair appointment, ran out of “spray net”, or Cokes in the fridge. Though she worked outside the home some over the years, Mary was largely a dutiful homemaker and helped to care for her granddaughter and great grandson. Untold amounts of swimming and two generations of playhouse antics she put up with and never complained. Mary and her son, John Coy, always shared a special bond and she relied on John to resolve any problems that arose. Although she became confused in recent times, she never lost the ability to quote his phone number and managed to have him called to discuss anything she found unsatisfactory.
Lesser well-known facts include Mary mourned her pet Pekinese dog, Missy, so much that when Missy died, she never wanted another pet as Missy was not replaceable. Her love for collecting clocks lasted for years and they all chimed on the hour. She had a fondness for frozen margaritas, which was mutual. Both Mary and her best friend, Sandra McDowell Jones (formerly Pettigrew), were born on April 2, 1936 in Red River Parish, delivered by the same doctor making house calls, graduated together, married twin brothers, and remained close throughout life. In 2016 Mary’s dear friend, Billie Jean Tinsley, passed away and she mourned her visits with her friend greatly. Lastly, that the secrets to all her recipes include more salt, another stick of butter and three times the vanilla called for in the recipe.
Mary, Mother, Meme or Aunt Mary, depending on who you were in relation to her, gave us all one thing to share in her absence and that is, we will all miss her dearly. Mary Pettigrew was quite the southern lady and when this former Miss Choctaw beauty queen hung up her crown to go “yonder”, it marked the end of an era. May she Rest in Peace and God Bless her soul and welcome her into His Kingdom.
Our family would like to express our sincerest appreciation to those of you who helped care for Mary and Billy before and during their illnesses. Please forgive anyone whose name we missed. Sharon Windham, Brenda Pettigrew, Roland Pfingsten, Charles Livingston, Sheila Hollis, Pettigrew Specialty Staff, Dr. Kennedy Lim and Staff, WK Bossier ER & Hospital Staff, Brownlee Nursing Facility Staff.
