Mary Frances Hoover

Mary Frances Hoover age 101 died Sunday, March 24th after a very brief stay at the Phil and Flo Jones Hospice House. She had been residing at St Bernard’s Villa Memory Care assisted living for the past 6 years. Mary and her twin sister, Martha, were born on Nov. 2, 1922, in Ashland, MS to Mary Anna Porter and Arthur Benton Hoover.

She spent her early years helping her parents and thirteen other siblings on their farm.  She graduated high school in Ashland in 1940 and, with the help of her brothers, she and Martha were able to attend Holmes Junior College near Jackson, MS. They were affectionately known there by their classmates and teachers as “the twins.” After graduation, Mary started her work life in Jackson then later transferred to Walnut Ridge, AR to work with the company building the runway during the war effort. She later moved to Memphis where she spent the next 40 years as an executive assistant for Superior Coach Sales.

Mary had a great love for her family and took care of them throughout the years. This included moving her mother into her own home to care for her with the help of her older sister, Ruth. She was generous to a fault, both with her time and resources. She was always helping her twin sister and was like a second mother to Martha’s children. In 1976, she moved to Jonesboro, AR to help Martha take care of her family after her husband became ill. She also was a frequent and favorite babysitter for her great nephew and nieces. She was an active member at Huntington Avenue Methodist Church and later in her life at First Baptist Church, both in Jonesboro. Her devotion to God and family always came first. Her favorite pastimes included her home bible study, music, working in the yard with her flowers, and lovingly caring for her pets. She was loving, kind, smart, very witty, and always good for a laugh. During her last years at St Bernard’s Villa, she made many friends with the residents and staff who lovingly cared for her.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, her twin sister Martha, two older sisters and ten brothers.

She is survived by her immediate family of nieces and nephews:  Elaine (Phillip) Gillespie of Jonesboro, AR and their children Rachel Gillespie of Dallas, TX and Andrew (Cecily) Gillespie of Little Rock, AR; Celeste (Jerell) Smith of Wichita, KS and their children Allie (Chris) Nicholson of Baldwin City, KS and Chris (Sarah) Smith of New Orleans, LA;  Gene Bosche of Jonesboro, AR and his daughters Emily Bosche of Little Rock, AR and Jill (Ryan) Bosche of San Marcos, TX. She is also survived by many other nieces and nephews and their children.

Private graveside services will be held at Liberty Methodist Church in Ashland, MS.

For lasting memorials, please consider the Phil and Flo Jones Hospice House in Jonesboro, AR and the Northeast Arkansas Humane Society.