Mary Anne D'Alton

Born May 2, 1929 in Archibald, LA, Mary Anne spent most of her childhood in Louisiana before moving to Kansas as a teenager with her mother and sister. She attended college at the Hockaday School for Girls in Dallas, TX, and completed her degree in Education at the University of Missouri. In college, Mary Anne joined the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and was a very active sorority sister throughout her life.

After college, Mary Anne took advantage of her love of travel and spent several years as a stewardess for Trans World Airlines. On one particular flight, she accidentally dropped the intercom microphone on a passenger’s head—Army Lieutenant Austin L. D’Alton III. By the end of the flight, Mary Anne agreed to a date with Austin and a few weeks later, surprised him in Tokyo where he was stationed. In Tokyo, Austin proposed. The two were married February 27, 1954. They raised two children and spent fifty years together until Austin’s passing in 2005.

Mary Anne was incredibly adventurous; she and Austin took many trips all over the world, and traveled to all fifty states in America—many of them more than once. She created and ran a successful travel agency out of St. Louis, MO. She was an active churchgoer all throughout her life, and volunteered for many different organizations and causes. She was an avid golfer, alpine and cross country skier, as well as a talented water skier. She and Austin were also known for their elegance in ballroom dancing, and the two danced together on many occasions, whenever the opportunity arose.

Mary Anne and Austin designed and built a beautiful house on Lake Sunapee in New Hampshire in the early 1970s. The family spent many summers water skiing on the lake in their 1955 Century Coronado speedboat, and many winter weekends skiing at Mt. Sunapee and King Ridge. She and Austin retired to the lake in the 1990s, and became active members of the Lake Sunapee Yacht Club and Lake Sunapee Country Club.

Mary Anne was sharp as a tack and could always be found with a crossword puzzle in hand along with a deck of cards. She absolutely loved to play Bridge and was very successful at it. She was incredibly proud to have achieved the status of a Life Master Bridge Player, and competed in tournaments weekly.

Mary Anne is predeceased by the love of her life, Austin L. D’Alton III, her mother, Maude Reid, her stepfather, Thomas Reid, her sister, Frances Adamson (Parker), her brother-in-law, James D’Alton, and numerous close friends including her best friend Sally Wade.

She is survived by her son Austin L. D’Alton IV and his wife, Amy, her daughter Andrea L. D’Alton, her grandchildren, LeeAnn Shea (D’Alton), Ryan D’Alton, Alissa D’Alton, Britny Enderle, Erin Fletcher, Paige Roberts, her great-grandson, Andrew D’Alton, her nephew, Reid Adamson, as well as cousins, and many friends whom she loved dearly.

A private ceremony with friends and family will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital online or by mail at: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.