Mary Frazier Pope

Mary Frazier Pope joined our Heavenly Father on Saturday, February 5, at 8:30 pm. She was a sweet lady, a faithful friend, a devoted wife, and a loving mother. Mary was born on November 22, 1932, at Kings Daughters Hospital in Greenville, MS, the first child of Royall Cooke Frazier and Irene Hunt Frazier. Four years later, she became big sister to brother Royall Hunt Frazier. She lived with her family in Leland, MS, attending school and playing sports. She especially enjoyed high school, joining the Junior Cotillion Club, playing tennis and basketball, and serving in the Presbyterian Youth Fellowship at Leland Presbyterian Church. She excelled at doubles tennis, making it to the state semi-finals as a junior and winning the Delta Tennis Tournament as a senior. She spent her summers at Camp Montreat, where she was elected "Princess Montreat" during the summer after her junior year and formed many life-long friendships. Mary excelled academically as well and was inducted into the National Beta Club.

After graduating from Leland High School, Mary attended Mississippi State College for Women (MSCW) where she participated in a wide variety of extracurricular activities, including Aquacade, basketball, tennis, and volleyball. Her senior year she was voted Most Athletic in her class. After graduating from MSCW in May 1954 with a BS in Bacteriology, Mary worked at Charity Hospital in New Orleans where in December 1955, she passed the registration examination to become a Registered Medical Technologist certified by the American Society of Clinical Pathologists. Mary loved working as a Medical Technologist and excelled in the study of viruses. In June 1960, at the annual convention of the American Society of Medical Technologists, she received a first-place award for submitting a paper in the microbiology category entitled, "Diagnostic Virology: A New Field for the Medical Technologist." Her paper was published in the Journal of Medical Technology in 1961.

In 1962, Mary moved to High Point, NC, to work at High Point Memorial Hospital. There she met a neighbor named George Pope. Mary and George were married on November 30, 1963, in Leland, Mississippi, and returned to High Point, where they had two daughters, Anne Royall Pope, and Virginia "Gigi" Marquis Pope. In 1967, Bowater transferred George to its Catawba Timber Company facility in Rockingham, NC, to serve as District Forester. The family lived in Rockingham for 11 years, during which Mary focused on raising their daughters and volunteered with the First Presbyterian Church of Rockingham, the Welcome Wagon program, and Girl Scouts. She also enjoyed playing tennis, bridge, exploring the local area, and going to the beach with friends and family. Mary loved walking on Holden Beach, looking for shells and shark teeth. She also loved dogs and devoted numerous hours to caring for them and her daughters. She and George also enjoyed traveling to historic sites up and down the east coast and into West Texas, visiting relatives and sharing history with their daughters. In 1979, the family moved to Fort Mill, SC when George received another transfer. In Fort Mill, Mary volunteered with Unity Presbyterian Church, the Fort Mill High School Band Booster Club, Meals on Wheels, and the SC Lifeline Program. In 2001, George and Mary moved to Sun City Georgetown, TX, where Mary enjoyed visiting with neighbors, playing bridge, golfing, and conducting genealogy research. She volunteered with the local chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Colonial Dames. She and George traveled extensively and loved spending time with their grandchildren.

After George passed away in March 2016, Mary moved to San Antonio to be close to Annes family. She was active in the Alamo Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and attended University United Methodist Church. She developed a special relationship with her grandson, Chris, encouraging him as he participated in marching band, Boy Scouts, and eventually in his studies at TX A&M University. Although Marys health slowly declined due to dementia, she maintained her sense of humor and her kindness until the very end of her life.

Mary is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Anne Pope Shanks and Wayne Martin Shanks; daughter and son-in-law, Virginia Marquis Pope Batt and Theodore Lewis Batt III; three grandchildren, Duncan Frazier Batt, Christopher George Shanks, and Gillian Grace Batt; her brother and sister-in-law, Royall Hunt Frazier and Sonia Frazier, her nieces, Leslie Frazier Dolan, Katherine Frazier, her nephew Charles Frazier as well as many cousins, great nieces, and great nephews.

The family would like to thank Sue Stevenson, Marys best friend forever, and her family for their unwaivering love and support for Mary. Sue kept in contact with and supported Mary regularly up until the final days of her life. The family is especially grateful to Samuel Vesa and all of the staff of Pipestone Place Assissted Living for caring for and loving Mary like family. The family would also like to thank Guiding Light Hospice for the care, comfort, and support they provided in the last months of Marys life. GRAVESIDE SERVICE & CELEBRATION OF MARYS LIFE Friday, March 18, 2022 10:00 A.M. FORT SAM HOUSTON NATIONAL CEMETERY In lieu of flowers, the family encourages memorial donations to Meals on Wheels San Antonio at <https://www.mowsatx.org/donation> or The Lewy Body Dementia Association at <https://www.lbda.org/donate/>.

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