January 11, 1926 --- April 9, 2024
Burlington, NC
The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” Job 33: 4
Mary Lynn Lewis DeLany, 98, passed away peacefully on Tuesday morning, April 9, 2024 in Burlington, NC. She was born in Greensboro, NC, January 11, 1926, the second daughter of Lynnwood and McDaniel Lewis. Smart as a whip with a sharp memory all her life.
Mary Lynn graduated from Saint Mary’s Jr. College in Raleigh in 1944, and earned her BS degree in mathematics from Converse College , Spartanburg, SC in 1946 . She served colorfully as her Saint Mary’s class secretary for 75 years .
Mary Lynn was predeceased by her beloved son, Mark Johnson, and three husbands : Marshall Johnson, Frederic Beil , Jr. and the love of her life, her third husband, Walter DeLany , Jr., Captain USN retired. After he passed, she often teasingly commented to her children and friends that she had not totally ruled out finding number four.
Opinionated ? You bet ! No filters. From football to politics, Mary Lynn had a gutsy approach to life’s challenges and whims. When faced with divorce from the father of her three children, she decided to start swimming . Why not ? Son Mark encouraged her to compete, and to join the Nautilus Health Club in Greensboro. He helped oversee his mother’s progress there as well as in the pool. It was a two-way pledge as she attended every one of her children’s swim meets, and all three of her children cheered her on in Masters’ Swim Meets.
As Executive Secretary for the Community Swim Association in Greensboro, and a Board member of the Greensboro Swim Association, (GSA ), Mary Lynn took her water interest a step further and authored a small but important book in 1998 on the “History of Swimming in Greensboro “.
For 22 years, she worked for Greensboro Travel Agency and subsequently traveled the world . Volumes of photographs were painstakingly pieced together for each trip which she enjoyed for years.
An avid golfer, she once shot a hole-in-one at Greensboro Country Club and a trophy was made for her bragging rights. Even in her last days, she was eagerly waiting to watch the Masters in Augusta.
As a member of the Dirt Daubers Garden Club, she won the coveted Hoer of the Year award and proudly displayed the certificate in the kitchen on Dover Road alongside her college diplomas.
Nothing could get in this lady’s way when she made up her mind to face a challenge. She often said, “If it’s going to be, it’s going to be me”, meaning only she could conquer that mountain.
Mary Lynn was “everyone’s mom” and gracefully shared her wit and wisdom with everyone she met. No one delighted more in the accomplishments of her children and grandchildren . She taught them the importance of propriety, manners, faith and family.
Mary Lynn was loyal and trustworthy, honest and fair, with no holds barred ! You always knew where you stood with her - and she made herself clear in a most ladylike fashion. She was a true lady, and lived her long life to the fullest.
To have known her is to have loved her. She had so many friends !
Her writings of true stories range from her earliest memories as a young mother, to the details of football games and crazy memories as a child growing up in Greensboro. No spins, only the facts ! The one about how she chipped her front tooth skating on the sidewalk actually hurts to read. That tooth stayed chipped, by the way. She never had it fixed. It was a badge of courage, she said.
Mary Lynn loved her Andy Griffith shows & MASH every afternoon, and all the good ol’ movies from the 40’s and 50s , and of course, the Republican party. She was a voracious reader, and a gifted needlepoint artist.
Love, hard work, and dignity defined Mary Lynn.
No thought of hers went unspoken. Heaven forbid and Lord help you if you challenged her on ANY detail of ANY Carolina football game! She sat in practically the same section and seat on the “ sunny side” of Kenan Stadium for over 70 years. When she could no longer make it to Chapel Hill on Saturdays to watch the home games, she cheered the Heels from her TV in her own custom-made football jersey, # 80, which was given to her at her 80th birthday party.
UNC should have hired her as a football fact technician!
Mary Lynn will be missed by many. There will never be another soul quite like her, that’s the truth.
GO HEELS!
Surviving are her daughters Lynn, Carter, and husband Ashley, her four beautiful grandchildren : Winnie, and partner Michael, Lewis, and wife Andrea, Marshall, Liza, and husband Jeremy. Three great grandchildren were the absolute apple of her eye. Also surviving are her nephew, Mac, and his wife Cindy.
The family would like to acknowledge with great appreciation the love and care that Mary Lynn received from Ashley, Laquita, Temeka, Emily, and Christie, on Highlands Hall at Twin Lakes. They are true angels.
“Breathe on me, breath of God, so shall I never die, but live with you the perfect life of your eternity. “
( from the hymn, “Breathe on Me, Breath of God “ by Edwin Hatch )
In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to Twin Lakes Retirement Community, or AuthoraCare, Burlington, NC.
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