Mary Elizabeth Powell

Written with love, by her husband, Clois E. Powell.

Mary Elizabeth Powell was a light for all of us. She was the glue that kept this family together. Mary was born in Leavenworth, Kansas on May 31, 1944 to Charles Leslie Fincher and Viola May (Dykes) Fincher. They moved to Westminster, California in 1959. I moved with my family to Huntington Beach, California in 1960. Mary and I attended the same high school, Westminster High. She had the prettiest blue eyes that I had ever seen. Mary was on the swim team and she started the flag girl program. She played the saxophone in marching band. I became the drum major because she wanted to date one. We went to the same college, California State University at Long Beach. She got a degree in Home Economics with a teaching certificate. After realizing teaching may not have been for her, she decided only to substitute teach. We got married on August 12, 1967. We saved our money and planned to go to Rutgers University for my Ph.D. A letter from President Nixon put me in the Army instead. Mary said that we were both in the Army. I had achieved the rank of E-5 so the Army moved us to New Jersey for graduate school. Mary worked in the cashier’s office while I was in Graduate School. She had our son, Robert, during the last year of Graduate School, and she left work to take care of him. The first job was in Strongsville, Ohio. Four years later, I had a job advancement that took us to Westerville, Ohio. She was there all the time supporting me and taking care of Robert. In 1986, I got a job advancement, and we moved near Chicago. Then, I got another advancement to Director of Polymer R&D, so we moved to Cleveland. Mary bought our house, and she did a super job. We found an excellent school system for Robert on the east side. Robert finished junior high and high school with Marys' guidance. He also became an Eagle Scout. I got an excellent career opportunity in Gonzales, Texas in 1994. We moved to McQueeney. Texas is our home forever. Here Mary did something that she always wanted to do. She started a women's dress store, Fashion Magic. She loved going to the market in Dallas to buy things. She also loved selling, but she did not like the accounting part. Someone else did that. In 2015, she had a stroke. In four months of therapy, she could talk, walk with a cane, drive, and go anywhere. Most people would still be in bed. She closed the store because she could no longer do what she enjoyed most there. On October 21, 2024, she fell at home and her health declined. She spent five months recovering. On April 8, 2025, at 5:30 in the morning she passed peacefully at Walnut Springs Nursing Home in Seguin at the age of 80. She lived life to the fullest. We had been married for over 57 years. She died too early for me. She will always be with me.

Services honoring Mary will begin on Tuesday, April 15, 2025 at Goetz Funeral Home with visitation from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Mary will be laid to rest on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. at Guadalupe Valley Memorial Park. A Memorial Service will be held at the First Methodist Church on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. with a Reception to follow.