She graduated from Hot Springs High School in 1944 and enjoyed many years of lunch get togethers with classmates who were able to attend.
Mary Ann married John J. McGowan September 24, 1949 and lived in Jennings, LA for seven years where two daughters; Linda Ann and Molly Elizabeth were born. They moved back to Hot Springs and had a son, James Edward.
She was a lifelong member of Grand Avenue United Methodist Church and was a “Babe-In-Arms” of her mother for the ground breaking of the new building in 1927. She participated in United Methodist Women and from Cradle Roll on through life Jesus Christ was the focus.
Mary Ann was employed as a Bookkeeper while raising a family, yet made the time to be a Girl Scout leader, homeroom mother, and a member of the PTA during her children’s elementary years. Later in life she volunteered her Bookkeeping Skills to the Garland County Animal Welfare Assoc. She served as Treasurer of “The Melting Pot Genealogy Society” and was a volunteer coordinator for The Methodist Outreach Thrift Store. She was a member of Garland County Historical Society and Served several years as her church historian until her move to Good Shepherd Retirement Center in Little Rock, AR in 2015. She was able to volunteer in the “Good Shepherd Gift Shop” and appreciated her association with Woodlawn Baptist Church after moving to Little Rock. Mary Ann loved serving Jesus and others and always put herself last.
She was predeceased by her husband, parents, one brother, Harmon Austin Carpenter, who was killed December 15, 1944 in preliminaries of The Battle of the Bulge in Saarlautern, Germany.
She is survived by her three children, Linda A. Stafford of Maumelle, AR, Molly E. Fougerousse (Mark) of Montgomery, TX, and James E. McGowan of Hot Springs Village, AR; Grandchildren Joseph D. Wilson (Kelly) of Bella Vista, AR, Nathan Wilson (Candace) of Conway, AR, Leah Wilson (John) of Houston, TX, Anna Fougerousse of Houston, TX; Five great grandchildren: Madelyn Wilson, Emily Wilson, Scarlett Wilson, Ford Wilson, and Jett Oszczakiewicz. She also as two cousins Clyde Covington and Robert Covington of Hot Springs, AR.
A visitation will be held at Grand Avenue Methodist Church on February 4, 2023 from 10:00 am to 11:00 am with a celebration of life memorial service to follow starting at 11:00 am.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.grossfuneralhome.com for the McGowan family.
