Mary Michele Reynolds Toy was born on November 8th, 1939, in Hamburg New York. She was the first child of four, and the oldest daughter of D. James Reynolds and Mary Louise Spaulding. She grew up in the Western New York area and attended Russell Sage College in Troy, NY before meeting and marrying Thomas B. Toy of Oil City, Pennsylvania in December of 1958.
Mary and Tom had four children together, Cynthia Louise, David Jacob, Rebecca Suzon, and Bruce James. In 1969, Mary and Tom moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, so Tom could pursue a PhD in Psychology, something Mary supported him wholeheartedly in achieving. She not only worked part-time jobs to help supplement the family income during this time, but she also served as editor and typist of Tom's dissertation; a period of time her children would fondly tease her about, as she had to frequently ban them from the house in order to be able to focus enough to work.
She was a devoted Girl Scout leader for many years, using the experiences she garnered from working with scouts to land a job with the North Carolina Agricultural Extension Agency, where she worked for many years with 4-H'ers and their families. In her later years Mary became an English teacher, working at the Berlitz School in Raleigh. She was uncannily proficient in acquiring new languages, which made her an excellent tutor to non-English speaking people. Mary was also an extremely talented baker, and made from scratch the wedding cakes for all her children. It was a rare birthday that wasn't graced by one of her legendary chocolate cakes, or an exquisitely tart lemon meringue pie.
Mary was also a devoted grandmother to her nine grandchildren: Nathan, Christopher, and Max Plott; Erin and Jamen Toy; Thomas and Bruce Harman; Jacob and Natalie Toy, who will all miss her very much. Without a doubt, her greatest joy in her final years came from her relationship with her great grandson, Jacob N. Plott, whose ebullient energy and nickname of "Gigi" for her was a source of constant happiness.
She is survived by her husband of 61 years, and her four children and their spouses: Cynthia Toy and Mark Plott; David and Julie Toy; Rebecca Toy and Craig Harman; Bruce and Nina Toy, along with 8 grandchildren and one great grandchild. She is also survived by her siblings and their spouses: Jim and Janie Reynolds; Anne and Dan Metzger; Carol and Larry Goldsmith, as well as 4 nephews.
Mary's family and friends will be celebrating her life on Saturday, January 26th, 2019, from 2:00 - 4:00 pm, at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 300 St. Mary's Street, Raleigh, N.C. 27605.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Wake County Public Library. [email protected]
