Mary Lanier Champion was born in Tallassee, AL, on June 29, 1931. She passed away December 1, 2018, at the age of 87. She was a woman of strong faith who loved God, her family, and serving others. Mary was a southern lady, raised in West Point, GA.
She graduated from Auburn University where she was an active member of Kappa Delta Sorority and majored in clothing and textiles. She married John Champion in 1955 and they moved to Tallahassee, FL in 1956 where John became the President of Florida State University in 1965. Mary brought grace and elegance to her role as First Lady of Florida State University. She kept the President’s House filled with fresh flowers and hosted annual Easter egg hunts and a Halloween party for university faculty and children. In recognition of her service to the university she was selected for membership in the Garnet Key leadership honorary society and was honored with a plaque at the First Tribute Garden by the President’s House.
She was loved by all for her kind spirit, commitment to community, and ability to always see the good in life. A mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend to everyone she met, she spent her free time baking for neighbors, gardening with her husband, and using her hands to sew and craft gifts for loved ones.
She is predeceased by her husband, John Elmer Champion, her parents, Campbell brown Lanier and Bertie Akridge Thompson Lanier, and her brothers, Campbell Brown Lanier, Jr. and James Smith Lanier.
She is survived by her children, Sally Champion Blackburn, and John Elmer Champion, Jr., their spouses, Glen Arthur Blackburn and Jane Schultz Champion, her grandchildren, Mary Lanier Odom, Elizabeth and Mike Guju, her sister, Sally Lanier Davenport, her sisters-in-law, Betty Lanier and Connie Champion and her seven nieces and six nephews.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am on Thursday, December 6, at All Saints Anglican Church at 15 McDowell Rd, Mills River, NC, with The Venerable Erich Zwingert presiding. The family will receive guests following the service at the church. Private burial will be held at a later date in Tallahassee, FL.
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