Mary Appleton “Appie” Haas O’Melia passed away peacefully on July 6, 2024 surrounded by her family. She was a beloved wife, mother and grandmother who was a native Mobilian and longtime resident of Grove Hill, Alabama.
Appie was greatly loved and is survived by her adoring husband of 60 years, Thomas Harrigan O’Melia; her children, Olivia O’Melia Iturbe (Trey); Appleton O’Melia Weston (Jeff); Virginia O’Melia Cook (Miles); and eight grandchildren, Thomas Fellows Iturbe, Elliott Augustus Iturbe, Mary Appleton Weston, John Fuller Weston III, Harrigan Salisbury Weston, Virginia O’Melia Macpherson, John Ritchie Macpherson IV and Elizabeth Blacksher Macpherson. She is also survived by her sister, Blakely Haas Davis.
Born on November 22, 1939 in Mobile, Alabama, to Mary Appleton Pritchard Haas and Oliver Lee Haas, Appie was the oldest of three sisters. She attended St. Mary’s Catholic school and graduated from Bishop Toolen High School. She continued her education at Marymount Junior College in Arlington, VA and then graduated from the University of Alabama in 1962. At the University she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and met her wonderful husband, Tom O’Melia, whom she married at Spring Hill College on May 9,1964. She left her job with Waterman Steamship Company to marry Tom and begin their lives back in Tuscaloosa where Tom was finishing the University of Alabama School of Law. They then moved to Grove Hill, Alabama, where they spent many wonderful years rearing their three children.
In Grove Hill, Appie was very involved in her community. She was a longtime member and a President of the Grove Hill Community Study Club, was on the Grove Hill Academy Board of Directors, and taught CCD at Sacred Heart Catholic Church where she was a devoted parishioner. Appie enjoyed promoting the arts and this dedication led her to start an elementary school arts program. In addition to her cherished ladies bridge club, she also treasured the many wonderful friends and family members she had. Appie also was involved in the Mobile Junior League, several Mobile Mystic Societies and was a Lady in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre.
Appie and Tom thoroughly enjoyed just being together. Their activities comprised of fishing, golfing, traveling abroad, attending Mobile symphony events and they especially loved dancing the night away to most any band. Appie was fondly known to her grandchildren as “Big App” and she always had a smile to share.
The O’Melia Family is forever grateful for the love and support from family and friends during the last few years of Appie’s life. We also want to express our heartfelt appreciation to the many caregivers that have cared for Big App, keeping her smiling until the end.
Appie is preceded in death by her parents, Mary Appleton Pritchard Haas and Oliver Lee Haas; her sister, Mary Lee Haas Shaner; her brother-in-law, Larry Lee Davis; and her granddaughter, Mary Reynalds Iturbe.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Sacred Heart Catholic Church P.O. Box 70 Grove Hill, AL 36451; the Infirmary Foundation for the O’Melia Internal Medicine Residency Clinic Fund, P.O. Box 2226 Mobile, AL 36652; or St. Ignatius Catholic Church.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Ignatius Catholic Church on Wednesday, July 10, 2024 at 11:00am. Private interment will be held at Pine Crest Cemetery, Mobile, Alabama. Condolences may be offered at www.radneyfuneralhome-mobile.com.
