Mary Ann Auler Meyers

Mary Ann will be remembered for her wit and warmth, her intelligent blue eyes behind her iconic large-frame glasses, and the way she always made room for laughter and love. Mary Ann enjoyed word games and Sudoku and she would tap in the final piece of a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle with the utmost satisfaction. Ever since she learned to read at the age of three, she spent her life surrounded by books, and for several years she owned a bookstore in downtown Austin specializing in Texana.

Mary Ann had an extraordinary memory when she was young. At Saint Mary’s Hall, her ability to quickly memorize information meant she could listen to records while the other girls studied. Though she was accepted at Wellesley, she attended UT Austin’s Plan II Honors Program because, she would say, her father was convinced she would marry a “damn Yankee” if she went north.

Dr. Greenwood Sylvester Wooten Jr., Mary Ann’s first husband, was no Yankee. His family was among the first doctors in Austin and they built one of the city’s original hospitals. They shared two children: Anne Greenwood Wooten and Joseph Goodall Wooten.

Mary Ann was an active member of All Saints' Episcopal Church and spent many years serving KLRN (now KLRU) as a trustee, including as chairman of its first art auction. She later served on the national board of the Friends of Public Broadcasting.

She adored her second husband Judge James “Jimmy” Rezia Meyers, whom she married in 1986. They had an active social life with friends and family and traveled the world together. These were among the happiest years of her life. Together, they restored and spent weekends at the house built by her grandmother at the Fall Creek Ranch in Tow, Texas. Later, Jimmy and Mary Ann spent many summer hours at their lake cottage in Muskoka, Ontario where they enjoyed boating, fishing, and close friendships with their neighbors. After Jimmy’s passing in 2017, Mary Ann recounted their time together as free of “fussing,” though she’d often say “Oh, honestly” in loving exasperation during his frequent bouts of goofiness.

When her memory began to decline, Mary Ann still retained her radiant warmth and sense of humor. She delighted in music until the very end and had weekly singing sessions and regularly attended Sip and Sing at Longhorn Village where she spent her final years. She loved to listen to Frank Sinatra and sing old favorites like “Edelweiss,” “Sweet Caroline,” and “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”

Mary Ann is now reunited with her husband, Jimmy; her daughter, Anne; her brother, Hugo Edwin “Ed” Auler; and her parents, Mary Blanton Auler and Dr. Hugo Alfred Auler. Mary Ann was deeply loved and will be missed by her family and friends, including her son, Joseph; her granddaughters, Sol Xuan Wooten and Savannah Jade Wooten; her daughters-in-law, Angela Nadine Broussard and Cynthia Moralez; her sister-in-law, Susan Auler; and her nephews Chad Auler and Mark Auler.

The family would like to thank Rhonda Hearns and Lorena “Nina” Palomares of Faith and Lovable Home Care for their devoted care of Mary Ann during her final years.

A graveside service will be held at Austin Memorial Park Cemetery on Monday, August 24 at 9 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to one of the following organizations that Mary Ann helped support during her lifetime: KLRU, Caritas of Austin, Casa Marianella, Central Texas Food Bank, and Mobile Loaves & Fishes.