Mary Butler Dinos

A Memorial Service will be held for Mary B. Dinos 4 PM, August 18th at the St. Simons Presbyterian Church. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Hospice of the Golden Isles, 1692 Glynco Parkway, Brunswick, GA 31525.

Mary Butler Dinos, died on Thursday, July 26th, at her home on Sea Island, Georgia. She was born on January 24, 1932 in Atlanta, Georgia, the daughter of Leon J. Butler, Sr. and Mary Ellen Colley Butler, who, along with a sister Ann and bother Jack, pre-deceased her.

A graduate of the Sacred Heart School in Atlanta, Mary married Jack A. Dinos of Atlanta in 1954 and devoted the next 58 years of her life to him, their four children: John (Nancy “Sam”) Dinos, Virginia (Dan) Reed, Susan (Bill) Roche, and Bart Dinos, and to her nine grandchildren: J.D. (Edith), Jeffrey (Jordan), Sheppard (Elaine), and Mary Elizabeth (Missy) Dinos; Daniel, Matt, and Caroline Reed; and Will and Kate Roche. She is also survived by a brother, Leon J. Butler, Jr., a sister, Susan Schaffer and numerous nieces and nephews.

A great grand-daughter of David Dean O’Keefe of Savannah, sailor-adventurer-trader, Mary loved telling tales of O’Keefe’s exploits in the South Pacific in the late 1800’s and of his becoming “King of the Yap Islands”. O’Keefe was the subject of a book and movie titled “His Majesty O’Keefe” which starred Burt Lancaster. A portrait she painted of O’Keefe hangs in his Cantina on the Island of Yap.

When she and her husband selected Sea Island for a second home in 1982, she chose a marsh lot on 13th Street and built the house she named “Merry Marsh”. Used for eight years as a vacation cottage, “Merry Marsh” became their permanent home in 1992.

Aside from her family, Mary had many interests. She traveled extensively with her husband, was an avid boater, but her favorite pastime was golf. She played at the Cherokee Town & Country Club in Atlanta, a member of CWGA, and in the Atlanta Women’s Golf Association. Later, she became a charter member of the Ocean Forest Golf Club, the Sea Island Club, and a member of the Sea Island Ladies Golf Association. Mary loved playing in tournaments, winning on a number of occasions including the first three “ladies Member/Guest” tournaments at Ocean Forest. She had four “Holes-in-One”, three of which were at Ocean Forest where she holds that record. Mary constantly offered encouragement to women just starting to play golf, endowing woman’s Golf Scholarships at the University of Georgia and College of Coastal Georgia.

Mary was an accomplished artist and painted in oils. She developed this talent on her own and spent many enjoyable hours in her studio which overlooked her marsh. She chose many subjects but portraits were her favorite, especially of grandchildren and dogs. She was accomplished in knitting and sewing, enjoyed gardening, crossword puzzles, and playing bridge with her friends. An avid football fan, Mary attended University of Georgia games with husband Jack for over fifty years.

As an advocate of higher education, she established student scholarships at the University of Georgia, the College of Coastal Georgia, and the University of Virginia. With her husband, she endowed the Mary and Jack Dinos Chair of Private Enterprise at Kennesaw State University’s Coles College of Business.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Hospice of the Golden Isles, 1692 Glynco Parkway, Brunswick, GA 31525.

Graveside services at Arlington Memorial Park Cemetery, Atlanta, Georgia will be on Monday, July 30, 2012 at 11 AM. A memorial service celebrating Mary’s life, to be held at the Saint Simons Island Presbyterian Church, will be announced.

Arrangements for cremation are under the direction of Edo Miller and Sons Funeral Home.