LINDSEY, Mary Dennard

Mary Dennard Lindsey died peacefully at her care home in Greater Atlanta February 15, 2024. She was 97. Mary was the daughter of Joe L. and Matibel Dennard, and was predeceased by her husband, Edward Harman Lindsey.

Born in Fort Valley, Georgia, on October 1, 1926, she was raised in Pineview, Georgia, where her family had been farmers in Wilcox County for generations. She graduated as Valedictorian from Pineview High School in 1943, attended Wesleyan College in Macon for one year, and graduated from the University of Alabama at ninetten (because there was nothing else to do during the War) in 1946 with a BA in Speech and Drama.

Although her childhood and young adult years were shaped by the Great Depression and World War II, she still loved life. She was an only child, but was one of 39 Pineview first cousins, and she is the last. She loved family, small-town life, summers at the beach, car trips and traveling. She was never without a book, adored Agatha Christie and Jane Austen, loved history with a lifelong love affair with British history, and religious studies. Her love of learning was so great that she would even read the Encyclopedia Britannica if nothing else was available.

At Alabama she was a Phi Mu, cherishing the friendships she made there, and became a lifelong fan of Alabama football. If the Crimson Tide lost early in the season, that was the end of the college football season in her home. Roll Tide Roll.

After college, she taught school in Forsyth, Georgia, and then shifted to the business world. She moved to Atlanta and went to work for a local brokerage firm.

Upon arriving in Atlanta in 1948, all the stars aligned for her to meet her husband, Edward. She said that she felt like no matter what she did, it was inevitable that she would meet, fall in love with and marry him. They married in 1952 and were married 50 years when he died in 2003.

Edward and Mary moved into Brookwood Hills in Atlanta in 1962 and lived there for 39 years. They were a centerpiece to that strong-knit community, re-creating the strong community ties that were more often found in a small town. They were part of creating a magical childhood for a generation of Atlantans.

After being raised Baptist and Methodist, she found her faith home with the Presbyterians at North Avenue Presbyterian Church, the Lindsey/Harman family church home. She was an active member for 70 years. She loved her time working with the Children's Sunday School and was an active participant in many bible classes and studies.

From the time she was little girl she was never without a dog. While she could practice tough love to her human offspring, she was an overindulgent dog mom.

Mary is survived by her daughters, Mary Stewart (Gary) Lindsey and Dennard Lindsey (John) Teague; son, Edward Harman (Elizabeth) Lindsey Jr.; grandchildren, Anne Marie "Anna" Lindsey (David) Dollar, John "Jack" Teague, Edward "Harman" (Alex) Lindsey III, Edward Teague, Joseph "Gray" Lindsey, Charles "Charlie" Lindsey, Zachariah "Zack" (Kate) Lindsey, and Mary "Molly" Teague; and great-granddaughters, River, Sarah, Emily and Maggie Dollar.

A graveside service at Westview Cemetery, Atlanta will be held on Monday, February 26, 2024, at 2 PM.

All family and friends are invited.

Memorial contributions may be made to North Avenue Presbyterian Church, 606 Peachtree Road, NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30308 or to Atlanta Humane Society, 1551 Perry Boulevard NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30318.