Mary Louise Shirley Hodges

Mary Louise Shirley Hodges, 102, of Birmingham, Alabama, died peacefully at home on Sunday evening, June 2, 2024, surrounded by family members and loving caregivers. She was the devoted wife of the late Andrew Gerow Hodges, to whom she was married for nearly 64 years; the daughter of Dr. Robert Lee Shirley and Mary Johnston Shirley (“Maymie”) and the sister of Dr. Sheridan William Shirley and Dorothy Shirley Matson, all of whom predeceased her.

She is survived by two sons, Andrew Gerow Hodges, Jr. (Dorothy) and Gregory Robert Hodges (Liz); six grandchildren: Tracy Hodges Slaughter (Robert), Meredith Hodges Brown (Fletcher), William Gerow Hodges, Eleanor Hodges Tolbert (Jeff), Jane Latham Hodges Nance (Alex), Mary Elizabeth Scott Hodges; eleven great-grandchildren: Walker Mason Beauchamp (Laura), Kaylee Beauchamp Culpepper (Rob), Eleanor Heath Beauchamp, Robert Davidson Slaughter, Jr., George Chapman Longshore Slaughter, John Fletcher Brown, Jr., Amelia Hayes Brown, Maddox Montgomery Brown, Ann Rollins Brown, Lillian Louise Tolbert, Eleanor Elizabeth Tolbert; and two great-great-grandchildren, Naomi Elisabeth Beauchamp and Maxwell Louis Beauchamp.

Born in Valdosta, Georgia, on December 28, 1921, Mary Louise was only three when she climbed up on the piano bench at her grandfather’s house and started playing “Jesus Loves Me” by ear. Over the next 99 years, she would continue to play – often on that same piano – until the last week of her life.

Music was one of her greatest gifts, and she loved sharing her talent – playing preludes before Women’s Committee of 100 events for 40 years, and for the Salvation Army’s Women’s Auxiliary, Arlington Historical Society, St. Martin’s in the Pines, and Brookdale University Park Christmas parties. She once traveled to Africa with a mission group to teach Bible stories and play songs for children, leaving her portable keyboard behind so the music could continue after she was gone.

The last remaining charter member of the Women’s Committee of 100 for Birmingham, she served two terms as its President and founded its Quality Entertainment Committee (now the Quality Media Committee) to encourage clean entertainment. “PTAs, church groups, and civic clubs have all felt her impact,” said the Birmingham Woman of the Year Committee in presenting her the award for 1979-80. “She has contributed substantially to the moral tenor of our city.”

For more than 25 years, she entertained special visitors and conducted tours of the city, often in her own car, or leading a fleet of buses for larger groups. She was instrumental in starting the Visitors Bureau of Tourists for Birmingham (now the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau). In 1989, Mayor Richard Arrington, Jr. designated her as “Official Volunteer Tour Guide of Birmingham.”

She served as President of the Baptist Hospital Women’s Board and as a member of the Baptist Health Foundation’s “Second Fifty” group, often visiting patients in the hospitals.

A 1943 graduate of Howard College (now Samford University), she ardently supported her alma mater from her undergraduate days to the last months of her life. At the request of Howard’s president, Major Harwell Goodwin Davis, she joined the college’s Publicity Office to help promote the school and The Birmingham News engaged her to write regular features and social notices for its society pages – often under her own byline. It was not just a college activity, it was her first real job in journalism, and The News paid her 35 cents per column inch!

With so many activities to cover, she made many new friends, celebrated college life with them at football games, dances, hayrides and teas, and even reported on events at Howard’s cross-town arch-rival, Birmingham-Southern.

She joined the literary society, won parts in theatre productions, and even wrote and directed a play of her own as part of Howard’s first experimental theatre class.

Along the way, she met (and later married) Andrew Gerow Hodges, an upperclassman from Geneva, Alabama, who would distinguish himself as a Red Cross officer negotiating prisoner-of-war exchanges during World War II and later as an insurance executive. Gerow became Chairman of Samford’s Board, and he and Mary Louise proved to be a powerful duo supporting the University every way they could. He would be named Alumnus, and she Alumna, of the Year.

A past president of Samford’s International Alumni Association and the Alabama Phi Mu Alumnae Association, Mary Louise was an active member of Samford’s Legacy League for more than 40 years. She co-founded the Birmingham International Festival of Arts and served as a board member of the Birmingham Arts Alliance, the Birmingham Music Club and the Birmingham Symphony.

When Mary Louise and Gerow moved back to Birmingham in the early 1950s, after he was named an officer of Liberty National Life Insurance Company, they settled on Lucerne Boulevard in Homewood and quickly became active in the community. They joined Dawson Memorial Baptist Church following a personal visit from its pastor, Dr. Edgar Arendall, who later became their across-the-street neighbor. Gerow would become a deacon and later chairman of the board of deacons, and Mary Louise would set a record for service as a Sunday School teacher at Dawson that still stands – 65 years! She also served as a room mother for Edgewood School, chairman of Little League Mothers, and raised funds for the Homewood Little League Field.

In 1963, they moved to Shades Crest Road in Vestavia Hills, just a block from Vestavia Temple. Mary Louise became active in community projects, including serving as fundraising chairman for the Vestavia Library, and was named Vestavia Hills Citizen of the Year.

In the early 1970s, they moved around the block to a house on Vestavia Drive overlooking Samford University, their beloved alma mater. Their home was part of the Vestavia Dogwood Trail, and Mary Louise and Gerow worked hard to make sure the dogwoods and azaleas in their yard were always ready for that annual showcase of nature. And they loved hosting Sunday dinners for their growing extended family at Vestavia Country Club, where they could introduce them to so many friends.

Of all her accomplishments, Mary Louise was proudest of being the mother of two sons, the grandmother of six, great-grandmother of eleven, and great-great-grandmother of two (with more already on the way). Her happiest place was around her grandfather’s “Parlor Grand” piano, surrounded by family and friends, singing.

The piano came down to her from the Reverend Aubrey Lee Johnston, a Baptist minister known as “Pappy,” who played it well, but who died who long before she was born. Mary Louise always said Pappy was “the first person she wanted to meet in heaven” – and her family can only image that they are now together on the same piano bench, pounding out duets – and laughing.

The family extends its deep thanks and appreciation to the compassionate and dedicated caregiving team that supported Mary Louise in her remarkable journey over so many years, especially Ellen Mitchell, who faithfully served her with love and kindness for 24 years and never forgot a family member’s birthday; Pat Adams, Lori Champion and her late mother Sherry Cruise, Andé Garrett, Jennifer Hallman and Lois Harris, as well as Niki Patton and Michelle Tyler, who coordinated the caregiving team before and after the COVID years and helped Mary Louise survive it twice. They also encouraged her to play the piano until the last week of her life, always enjoying her playing.

Only God knows the full extent of what each of them did for her, but we all could discern what their loving care and friendship meant to her and her quality of life, which remained amazingly good until almost the very end. Their help to Mary Louise and her family will never be forgotten.

Her funeral service will be held at Andrew Gerow Hodges Chapel of Beeson Divinity School at Samford University on Thursday, June 13 at 11:30 a.m. with visitation beforehand in the adjacent Beeson Commons from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. Graveside service will follow at Elmwood Cemetery, Block 31. Services are under the direction of Ridout’s Valley Chapel (205-879-3401) in Homewood.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial to the Samford University School of the Arts, School of Education or Legacy League (800 Lakeshore Drive, Birmingham, AL 35229); Dawson Memorial Baptist Church (1114 Oxmoor Drive, Birmingham, AL 35229; or a charity of your choice.