Mary Anne (Salkill) Roy

Mary Anne (Salkill) Roy, 66, of Evansville, born January 17, 1949, in Chicago, IL, to the late Mary (Lee) Roy and James Salkill, went to be with her parents, brother, Lucky, and Jesus Saturday morning, August 15, 2015, from the comfort of her bed surrounded by family.

I am not going to tell you where she worked and where she went to school because really who cares. What I am going to tell you about this amazing woman who was taken too soon but fought to the very end is about her personally. She was an honest and outspoken woman so there was never any doubt about how she felt about someone or what she thought about something. Whether that brought laughter, shock, or tears it was just who she was and everyone loved that about her. You just never knew what was going to come out of her mouth next so being with her was always an adventure. She had a heart of gold and once you were her family you were always her family. She may have only given birth to five children, but the number of people who claimed her was much larger.

Mary would turn on the old country music and listen to it throughout the day sipping her coffee or tea while smoking a cigarette and visiting with family or friends and put together puzzles which was a passion for her as was reading James Patterson mysteries and watching reality television. She loved swimming, camping (boy could we tell some stories about her from some of those trips!), walking along the ocean or through the woods or just sitting and listening to a fire crackle or the waves roll in. When we were all still at home she would pile us and usually a few friends in the car and take us out of town to visit family (you would have had to have rode in the car with her to understand the significance of this adventure, but believe me it always was one) and when we became adults she would hop in a canoe with a group of us and go down river all day or scale rocks to get an amazing view of something because she was always in awe of God’s canvas. She was fearless and funny and loved life, her family and God. We say God bless you to people and we were to have her for as long as we did but He got a special angel when He took her and now He is blessed.

She is survived by her partner, Ed May; children, Veronica (Greg) Embry of Evansville, Beth (Scott) Schnell, Geneva (Brian) Hess, both of Chandler, Diane Embry (Jim Dougan) of Evansville, and Donald Roy of Tell City; grandchildren, Scott, Toni (Chris), John (Amber), Kelly (Matt), Kortni, Kasey (Ashley), Skyler (Danielle), Nicholas, Jeanie, Jessica, Stephanie, David (Bethany), Taylor, Patrick, Colt, Kaylee, Brandon, Kara, Haley, and Jesse; 23 great-grandchildren; and sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews, cousins, and several “adopted” children and grandchildren.

Friends may visit Saturday, August 22, 2015, from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM at Alexander East Chapel.

Condolences may be made online at www.AlexanderEastChapel.com.