Mary Elizabeth Standifer

Mary Elizabeth McLaurin Standifer was born to Lillian and Banks McLaurin in Austin on August 4, 1917, and passed away on September 26, 2010. She grew up in Hyde Park and in Aldridge Place, attended Austin High School, and received a bachelor's degree in English in 1937 from the University of Texas, where she was a member of Alpha Phi Sorority and Mortar Board. She subsequently earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and an MBA from the University of Tennessee. Before her marriage, she worked at the Austin National Bank and at the Austin American-Statesman, where she was a photographer. She also taught at Florida College for Women and, during the latter part of World War II, worked for the USO in NY City.

Mary McLaurin and Richard Myles Standifer met on a trip to Mexico City before the war and married at University Methodist Church in Austin on June 10, 1946. Soon afterward they headed to New Orleans, where Richard enrolled in the School of Social Work at Tulane University. In 1952, they bid a regretful farewell to New Orleans and moved to Houston, and in 1959 they settled in Austin. After her children were grown, Mary worked for a time for Austin Anesthesiology Associates. She belonged to St. Stephen's Methodist Church in Houston and Tarrytown United Methodist Church in Austin and was a member of P.E.O. and the Cereus Garden Club. In addition to volunteering with Meals on Wheels, she played an active role for a number of years in Lifetime Learning.

In her youth, Mary spent endless hours swimming at Deep Eddy and Barton Springs and rollerskating on the UT campus. She also enjoyed riding horseback, but perhaps more than almost any other pastime, she loved to dance. On one occasion, every other couple on the dance floor retired to the side to watch, as she and her partner joyfully cut the rug. Until vertigo intervened later in life, she walked daily, and for many years she greatly enjoyed the company of fellow dog walkers on the Shoal Creek Hike and Bike Trail. She followed UT football games with baited breath and delighted in seeing the Tower glowing orange. Though she was fond of travel and marveled at other parts of the world, she was immeasurably proud of being an Austinite and a Texan.

Always thoughtful of others and a paragon of responsibility and follow-through, Mary could ever be found in the thick of the action. She was sweet-natured even in trying times and was decidedly a people person. From childhood onward, she was blessed with dear friends who remained friends for life. A devoted wife and an infinitely patient and loving mother, she will be forever missed.

Mary was predeceased by her sister, Farrior McLaurin Chrisman, and her brother, Banks McLaurin, Jr. Survivors include her son and daughter-in-law, Richard McLaurin Standifer and Brenda Matheny; her daughter, Mary Manor Standifer; her nieces and nephew and their spouses, Candace and John Volz, Marion and Keith Forbes, Tom and Claire McLaurin, Ann and Robert Parker, and Bettie and Fred Haller; and many grandnieces and grandnephews. Survivors also include her "Canadian children," Donna and Brian Dippie and Liz and John McCullam and their families, and her "Oregon children," Judy Moseley and Gerry Moseley and their family.

Mary's children wish to thank her exceptional physicians, as well as the magnificent staff of Barton Hills Assisted Living for the loving care they took of their mother over the past five years.

Visitation will be at Weed-Corley-Fish on September 30th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Memorial service will be held at Tarrytown United Methodist Church on Friday, October 1st at 12:00 p.m.