Mary Roempke Barwick

Mary Robertson Roempke Barwick, 77, passed from this life to be home with the Lord on the morning of February 1, 2020. She was born to Louis Joseph and Charlotte Elizabeth Conlon Roempke on October 28, 1942, in Charleston, South Carolina. Bright, happy and outgoing, she attended Bishop England Catholic High School in Charleston. She would become a Registered Nurse (RN) after graduating from the Medical College of South Carolina School of Nursing on June 6, 1963.

At age 16, she met future U.S. Air Force Colonel Leon Sinclair Barwick, Jr. and was at first determined not to give him a second date. Spurred on by her mother (thank you, Grammy), she persevered, and on finding him an excellent “Shag” dancer by the third date, got to know the man she would later marry on June 8, 1963. She became his devoted wife and best friend for the next 56 ½ years.

Mary was also an attentive, loving mother to Charlotte Loretta (Carla), now of Covington, Louisiana; Leon Sinclair, III, now married to Amy Smith Barwick in Montgomery, Alabama; Luke Blanchard, now married to Nicole Hebert Barwick, in Covington, Louisiana; and Edward Chadwick (Chad), now married to Christine Hahn Barwick, in Atlanta, Georgia.

Family and friends all enjoyed Mary’s daily gifts of kindness, generosity, wisdom and humor. After first picking up a paint brush at the age of 30, she discovered and shared a beautiful artistic talent. She was a frequent exhibitor at central Alabama art shows in the 1980s, and then wrote and illustrated the first of several books featuring “The Alabama Angels”. She would freely give of her time touring elementary schools across the state to read her works, encouraging and inspiring young people.

In the 1990s, she became a grandmother, first to Hannah Conlon Vaughan (Knoxville, Tennessee) and Michael Vaughan (Clemson, South Carolina); and in the 2000s and beyond, to (Amy’s and Leon’s children:) Rebecca Joy, Teresa Rose, Joseph Dennis, Margaret Anne, and Peter Louis, and to (Christine and Chad’s children:) Mary Jean, Leon Ambrose, Francis Charles, Aurelia Lane, Beatrice Elizabeth, and Loretta Clare Barwick.

A longtime parishioner of Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Mary attended daily Mass for decades. She was a member of the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Emerald Mountain Garden Club, and the Montgomery Bridge Club.

She is survived by husband Leon, children Carla, Leon, Luke and Chad, and by her 13 grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, Louis and Charlotte Roempke, by her brother, Louis J. Roempke, Jr., and by her sisters, Charlotte (Roempke) Westendorff and Jean (Roempke) Hammett.

Her love, conversation, and gentle wit will be missed by all. A memorial Mass for Mary will be held for immediate family later this year. In lieu of flowers, please give to a favorite charity.