Mary Joyce Thompson

Born to Virginia Hazel, nee Mason and Lawson Roy Whittle four years after Barbara Ann and a year before Glenda Kay, Mary Joyce was the middle one of the three Whittle sisters that their father Roy called Pie, Buddie and Angel. Barbara had three daughters Becky, Pat and Lynn Crawford and Glenda had three sons Ricky, Jeff and Kelly Stanfill. Mary is survived by her son Leslie M. Bramlett, daughter Laura Helen Duvall, nee Bramlett, grandson Eric E. Duvall and great granddaughter Michael Andrew “Andy” Duvall’s daughter Marly Grace.

Except for her sole surviving brother-in-law Harold Stanfill and two grade school friends Kitty Lammons of Memphis and Peggy Hatcher of Dallas, Buddie or Miss Mary (as the kind nurses and attendants of Methodist Le Bonheur - Germantown and Allen Morgan Rehabilitation and Health Center most often called her in her final days) was the last of her generation. She was preceded in death by her parents including her kind and loving stepmother Fay Whittle, sisters and brothers-in-law Barbara (Joe) Crawford and Glenda (Melvin) Montgomery, sisters-in-law Kathleen (Horace) Novell and Helen (Roy) Harris.

After graduating from Central High School in 1950 she attended UT long enough to determine a career in nursing was not for her. She then went to business school and learned typing and shorthand among other skills which she put to use working for Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division in the Electric Distribution department at Beale & Walnut. She had married Percy Bramlett after his service in the U.S. Coast Guard and return to the restaurant business. Coming back from maternity leave for Laura, Mary Joyce went to work in a different department as her job had been filled in her absence.

Sometime after her divorce she began a friendship with a fellow employee Frank Thompson, a crew foreman in the Electric Distribution department and WWII Army veteran. They married in August of 1966 necessitating her move to a different department in the division and the new family moved to Whitehaven and later Germantown. They enjoyed many years first with Frank’s interests in horses, square dancing, camping and throughout their time together traveling, especially on the many group trips with Kirby Pines residents and Central Church members. During the first of those years MJ worked in the insurance department and as a secretary for one of the vice presidents and later still, notably, as a data analyst for the Industrial Power Usage department of the Electrical Operations division. Having done the job of charting the metering of large businesses’ power usage manually for a number of years she began work with a young programmer she considered her boss teaching him all the manual steps involved in her job. She attended State Technical Institute of Memphis to learn to use the computer. Together she and the programmer Mark Davis accomplished the project of computerizing the process of metering many of Memphis’ largest industrial power users for the department.

Mary enjoyed many special friendships with ladies in her bridge clubs and bible study groups. She also felt a great deal of satisfaction and reward helping her very good friends Ruby and Bill Burdett with their non-profit organization the Love Home.

Even after their retirements from MLG&W and Frank’s death in Nov. 1993 she found interest in working at the MLG&W Federal Credit Union, as a tax preparer for H&R Block, a reservationist for Promus & Embassy Suites Hotel groups, secretary for a church pastor and a psychologist’s office.

She loved her grandsons and her chihuahuas. She was very intelligent and dedicated in her religious studies, had a strong will and sense of right and wrong (for every one she knew.) Yet, she was fun loving and loved to laugh as much as anything. Family, friends, coworkers, neighbors and acquaintances enjoyed her company. She will be missed.