Mary Jane Powell

Mary Jane Gravley Powell was born on Nov 11, 1943 in Macon, GA to Jacob and Lettie Gravely. She passed away on Sat, Feb 16, 2013 after suffering a fatal ruptured cerebral arterial aneurysm while attending her eldest grandson's high school varsity soccer game the previous evening.

She attended Alamo Heights High, San Antonio, TX; Hardin-Simmons Univ (BA in Math and Secondary Ed, 1966), Abilene, TX and UofH (MA in Math for Secondary Ed, 1973), Houston, TX.

From 1966 through 1980 she was a secondary math teacher in various TX school districts...predominately Clear Creek ISD in League City, TX. She was head of the math department at Clear Creek High for seven years before retiring from teaching in 1980. She entered the field of aerospace working in software development and quality engineering for multiple NASA/JSC contractors from 1980 until 2010 when she retired from United Space Alliance.

She was preceded in death by her parents and other family members.

Remaining to remember her incessant laughing and talking, unparalleled wit and sense of humor, infectious smile, huge and unselfish heart and penchant to spell and grammar check every word, sentence and paragraph written or spoken by family members, friends and total strangers, her husband Jerry Powell, Houston; son, Craig and wife Sharrell Powell, Houston; grandsons Mason, Garrett and Colton Powell, Houston; sister, Lucy and husband Bill Humbert, Corsicana, TX.

Mary Jane loved the arts, reading, movies, cooking, exercise, tutoring, mentoring, gardening and most of all any activity associated with her three grandsons. She was an active fan and volunteer for her grandsons’ sports teams. She was well known and loved by players, parents, grandparents and coaches. Her real passion was working with young people. She recently became a substitute teacher in the Clear Creek ISD. She was so excited to be back in the classroom. Her second and last assignment was on Thu, Feb 14 at Clear Brook High where Mason and Garrett attend. She will be missed by a multitude of people who had their lives positively influenced by her presence.

In lieu of flowers, please make a modest donation to the charity of your choice. Her two favorites were SPCA and American Cancer Society.

Visitation will be Wed, Feb 20, 2013 from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM at Forest Park East Funeral Home, 21620 Gulf Fwy, Webster, TX 77598. Funeral services will be Thu, Feb 21, 2013 at 5:00 PM at the same facility.