Mary Lee Livesay

Mary Lee Livesay died peacefully on May 24 at St. Catherine’s Village. She was born on December 8, 1920, in Meridian Mississippi, the only child of William Stover and Alma Dyess Busby. She attended the Meridian public schools, editing both the newspaper and annual in high school. She graduated from Millsaps College in 1943 with a major in the recently established psychology department.

If she had been born a generation or two later, she likely would have run a business or directed a nonprofit organization. She was exceptionally competent, intelligent, efficient, and charming. But the employment opportunities for women were limited when she was coming of age, and she found her way into a career in elementary education.

At Millsaps she met the love of her life, Jim Livesay, and they were married on August 1, 1943. She taught briefly in Meridian, but then moved to the west coast where her husband served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. They returned to Jackson after the war and lived in southwest Jackson for more than fifty years. She raised two sons, and when the younger started school, she returned to teaching. For 23 years she taught fourth, fifth, and sixth-graders with loving firmness at Key, Isable, Davis and French.

For fifty years she was an active and faithful member of Capitol Street Methodist Church. When Capitol Street closed in 1996, she moved to Galloway.

She held numerous leadership positions in both her schools and her church, but above all she was a devoted wife and mother, saying that her main occupation was running an all-purpose “service station” for her husband and sons.

She is survived by two sons, Jeff Livesay of Manitou Springs, Colorado, and Gene Livesay of the Jackson area; a daughter-in-law, Wendy Fay of Manitou Springs; and two granddaughters, Lucy Livesay of Denver, Colorado, and Ella Livesay of Portland, Maine.

Her family wishes to thank the many loving friends and caregivers who supported her during her final years, especially Shirley Turnage, Nakia Harris, Keyahda Smith, Renever Edwards, Sonja Potts, and Robin Bartley.

Services will be held at the Galloway Methodist Church chapel at 2:00 on Monday, June 3. Visitation begins at 1:15.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the James J. Livesay Endowed Scholarship Fund at Millsaps College.