Mary Ann (Thompson) Whitsett

Mary Ann – one amazing lady! Mary Ann (Thompson) Whitsett was born to Paul and Merle Burgess in Allen, Oklahoma on Jan. 21, 1932. They doted on their little girl with the Shirley Temple curls. Her parents were school teachers and instilled in her a quest for knowledge and a lifetime of love and learning. Mary Ann inherited the Sherrod gift of gab and shared her life stories and experiences with her children.

Mary Ann graduated from Putnam City High School in 1950. She went on to nursing school to become an RN at Mercy Hospital. Not long after, she married Bob Thompson and started raising her family. Six kids later, she was busy, busy, busy! Mary Ann lived her life modeling her values that she passed on to her family. She taught Sunday school and Bible school, prepared lessons and crafts, volunteered her time at the grade school for clothing drives, chaperoned field trips, and helped with Girl Scouts and cookie sales. After her husband passed away in 1969, Mary Ann never gave up! She continued to be involved in her children’s lives. She took them fishing, camping, swimming, and attended countless baseball, basketball, and football games! She was presented a trophy for being the “base ballingest” mom! She even coached the first girls’ softball team at the grade school. She always managed to have a hot meal on the table even on the nights when attending 2 or 3 ballgames.

Mary Ann gave of herself tirelessly. She was an accomplished seamstress. She made clothes for her family as well as sewed for the public to help support her children. She cooked for her army of children, did mountains of laundry, dealt with endless squabbles, and still managed to keep an organized, clean home.

Mary Ann loved life and having fun. She married Bob Whitsett when her youngest graduated high school. They loved country music, dancing, bowling, gardening, playing cards, games, and dominoes, and taking trips in the Suburban. Mary Ann spent many hours researching genealogy and tracing the family roots. She loved her computer, sharing emails and browsing the web. She continued to enjoy all sorts of needlework, sewing, and crafts. She was quite proud of the needlepointed Christmas village which the Vinita Bank displayed in their lobby. Mary Ann continued to have a passion for life and a need to nurture. She enjoyed being an ombudsman for the nursing care facility in Vinita. Mary Ann had a kind, welcoming manner. It didn’t matter who you were – she would make you feel like family.

The last several years were a challenging journey for her. Dementia tried to take her from us, but she fought it all the way. There were times she didn’t recognize family members. There were times she just couldn’t make sense of her world, and there were times the disease seemed to make her totally opposite of her true personality. She never gave up though. She was like the Energizer Bunny, pacing all night, doing her busy work to the point of exhaustion and hurting herself. Even through the pain of a hurt shoulder, a broken wrist, and a crumpled spine, the family couldn’t keep her down. Mary Ann had the love and care of her family, as she had raised her children to be strong and, in difficult times, pull together and take care of each other.

Loving, nurturing, strong willed, fiercely independent, and some may say stubborn, are just a few words you could use to describe Mary Ann. She held true to that, all the way to the end. Even when she could no longer walk, she would sit up quickly in the bed and say, “I have to get up and get busy!” “I have to fix Bob supper.” She passed away November 30, 2014, peacefully at home surrounded by family. She was preceded in death by Robert L. Thompson Jr. and son Robert L. Thompson III. She is survived by 6 grandchildren, 13 grandchildren, and 19 great-grandchildren.

Mary Ann never, ever slowed down. As one of her caregivers had stated in a note, she was “busy! busy! busy!” At the end, she told Mother, “You have to slow down when you get to Heaven and not run over all the angels!”

Visitation will be Tuesday, December 2, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Guardian Funeral Homes West Chapel, 5820 NW 41st Street, Warr Acres, with funeral services on Wednesday, December 3, at 11:00 a.m.

Arrangements under the direction of Guardian Funeral Homes West Chapel, Oklahoma City, OK.