I first met Mary in early 1979 when she welcomed me into the Green family. I recognized then that she was a special person but over the next four decades I learned just how special she was.
One of the many times that her generosity and her well-thought-out and well-meaning abilities were very helpful to me was when I moved to New Orleans in 1988. She and Tom taught me how to survive and thrive within that extremely complex and exciting city. It seemed like Mary and Tom knew most everyone that lived there, from university professors to street entertainers. When she and Tom moved to Dallas in 1989, I missed them but they continued to counsel me from a distance.
Mary had that rare ability to have fun even when the adventure was not always fun. I always wondered how she was able to achieve that balance so consistently and I finally decided that it was her extremely strong sense of optimism that dominated all of her actions. I never saw any evidence that she doubted her ability to figure out and then solve a problem.
When Betty and I moved to Dallas in Christmas 2017, it was clear that Mary’s physical body was failing. She remained optimistic that she could deal with all of these complexities and she was able to do that right up until the end. I know that all of us wished that we could help her in the final weeks of her life but we could not.
The world will not be the same without Mary’s powerful presence and we will all miss her. However, we continue to live in a better world that Mary helped to create. Thank you Mary and God bless you.
—Lynn Trembly
Mary’s brother-in-law