Mary Ann (Martin) Pickard died on April 20, 2021, in Auburn, AL. She was a retired archivist for the Alabama-West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church, Huntingdon College, and the United Christian Ashrams International. Mary Ann was born to James Henry Martin and Lucy (Dillard) Martin on May 10, 1926, in Simpsonville, SC. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband William Marshall “Bill” Pickard, Jr. and her daughter, Mary Susan (Pickard) Zialcita. She is survived by her sister, Martha Sue (Martin) Barcynski; Susan’s son Gerald William Dokka and his wife Kimberly Ann Rice Dokka, and their sons, Jacob William and Steven William; her son-in-law, Lorenzo Juan Zialcita and his and Susan’s children, Susana Marie Zialcita and her husband, Austin Graham and their daughter, Thomasina Milagros Graham, Patricia Ann Zialcita and her husband, Art Mostofi and their daughter, Anahita Maria Mostofi-Zialcita; her son, Henry Martin Pickard and his wife Frances (Guinard) Pickard and their child, Thomas Franklin and his wife, Catherine (Scott) Pickard and their son, Benjamin Scott; her son, William Marshall Pickard, III; her son, Rev. Jamie Earl Pickard and his wife, Barbara (Guinard) Pickard and their children, William Michael and his wife, Kate Woodley, Andrew Wesley and his wife, Kelsey Bergeson, and Rev. Mary Ann Pickard; her son, Paul Wesley Pickard, M.D.,and his wife, Susan (Nelson) Pickard and their sons, James Wesley and William Nelson.
Mary Ann moved with her family to Decatur, GA (a suburb of Atlanta) in 1930. She graduated from Decatur Girls High School in 1943 and from Agnes Scott College in 1947, with a degree in History. She met her husband of 56 years at a college debate tournament. She was the timekeeper; he was one of the judges. No one won more at that tournament than the two of them. They married in 1946 and moved to Alabama where Bill was a Methodist minister. For the next eight years, they served congregations at Centreville, Brundidge, and Thomasville, all in Alabama, while welcoming the first three of their five children: Susan (1948), Henry (1951), and Marshall (1953).
In 1954, Mary Ann and Bill served as United Methodist missionaries to the Philippines. They remained in the mission field for the next 16 years, first as district missionaries in Tuguegarao, Cagayan province, and then at Knox Memorial United Methodist Church in Manila. During this time, Mary Ann worked as assistant to the noted missionary and theologian E. Stanley Jones. She preserved copies of Jones's writings now deposited at the Asbury Theological Seminary. While in the Philippines, Mary Ann and Bill added son Jamie (1956) and son Wes (1961) to their family. Returning to the U.S. on furloughs, the Pickards crisscrossed the continents. Mary Ann and Bill would continue to travel in later years, visiting Russia, South Korea, and India in connection with their work for the United Christian Ashrams, a spiritual retreat movement.
The family came home to Alabama in 1970. Bill took up twin posts as Professor of Religion at Huntingdon College in Montgomery and part-time pastor of Woodland UMC in Pike Road. Mary Ann trained as a professional archivist, acquiring certification from the Academy of Certified Archivists and joining the Society of American Archivists and the United Methodist Historical Societies. She helped establish an archive for the Alabama-West Florida Conference of the UMC at Huntingdon and served as archivist for the conference as well as for Huntingdon College for 19 years. She soon also became the archivist for the United Christian Ashrams. Collaborating with Bill, she organized and led this organization's central office. She learned to code so that she could design and administer its first website. Anyone who knew her could see how much she treasured this work. Even after she retired, she continued at Huntingdon as Archivist Emerita for nine years, caring for the collections she had developed.
In 2017, at the age of 91, Mary Ann moved to Auburn, AL, where she enjoyed friendships with her neighbors at Oak Park Independent Living Center, fellowship at Auburn United Methodist Church, and frequent visits from family. When it was time for a family visitor to depart, Mary Ann would urge them—as her own mother urged her so many years before—to get on the road. She did not want to hold them up. When, just after 5 p.m. on April 20, God urged her to get on the road, she went home.
The family will hold a visitation on Friday, April 30, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., at Leak Memory Chapel in Montgomery. The funeral service will take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 1, at Auburn United Methodist Church. The family will receive guests for 1 hour prior to the service. A graveside service will follow at 2 p.m. at Montgomery Memorial Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made to the William Pickard Scholarship Fund at Huntingdon College, 1500 East Fairview Avenue, Montgomery, AL 36106 (https://www.huntingdon.edu/alumni-friends/giving-to-huntingdon/give-now/) or to the United Christian Ashrams International, 904 Deville Lane, Ruston, LA 71270 (https://christianashramint.org/support-uca/).
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