Mary S. Layne

Mary Katherine (Sparks) Layne went to be with our Lord on Thursday afternoon, February 21st, 2013. Better known to all of her family and many friends as “Mer” (an Egyptian term of affection given to her by her precious husband of 67 years, Leonard), she was incredibly loyal, could teach the Old Testament to anyone and everyone, loved jigsaw puzzles and fires in her fireplace and LOVED to travel with Leonard.

Mary was a graduate of Angelo State and she and Leonard were charter members of St. Luke United Methodist church. For many years, she was a bookkeeper in the San Angelo area for numerous restaurants, body shops, beauty salons, retail shops and more. Mary enjoyed travelling with Leonard and had a HUGE streak of adventure in her – hot air ballooning through New Mexico, camping and rafting through the Grand Canyon and seeing sights as far as Alaska and the northeast. She was an INCREDIBLE wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

Mary is preceded in death by her parents, Cora and L.Q. Sparks and her brothers Swift and Bill Sparks and her precious husband Leonard E. Layne, a co-owner of Sparks-Layne insurance with her surviving brother L.Q. Jr. She is also survived by her 2 daughters Mary Beth (Layne) Foster and Kathy Layne, her son-in-law Richard E. Foster, 4 grandchildren and their spouses Amy (Foster) Parsons & Dave Parsons, Scott Foster and Shelisa Foster, David Engleman and Lisa Engelman and Maggie (Engelman) Blair and Tony Blair. As well, she had six great-grandchildren Jillian, Bella, Alison, Matthew, Trent and Avonlea and numerous other extended family and friends.

The family would like to specifically thank the staff at Cedar Manor Special Care for allowing Mer to be surrounded by love, dignity and compassion for the past two years of her life. Graveside service will be held Saturday February 23rd at 3:00pm at Lawnhaven Memorial Gardens. Arrangements are by Johnson’s Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to The Lighthouse for the Blind.