Mary Jo Spence Roberts

1952 - 2023

Mary Jo Spence Roberts
01/27/1952 - 07/15/2023
Mary Jo Spence Roberts, beloved and devoted mother, passed away in the early morning hours of Saturday, the 15th of July 2023 at Methodist Hospital in Houston. Mary Jo Spence was born on the 27th of January 1952 in Dyersburg, Tennessee to the late Alma Joy Rich Spence of Savanah Georgia, and the Late Isaac Lawson Spence Jr. of Dyersburg.
Raised in Dyersburg, Mary Jo was a spirited young girl from an early age who exhibited a zest for life and a love for the arts. Mary Jo loved music, enjoyed playing with her spaniel Snowball, collecting Madame Alexander dolls, going with her mother to hear the symphony in Memphis, and spending time with her daddy at the family farm in Frog Jump, Tennessee, "the cotton capital of the world."
People remember her for her bright smile-a smile that showed through her eyes-her sweetness and her cheerfulness. When friends would come to visit their house, they would find Mary Jo with orange juice cans in her hair, an innovative technique she used to achieve the perfect curl for her beautiful blonde hair. She was demure, kind, beautiful, always adventurous, and a whole lot of fun. One example of her adventurous spirit manifested in the 1960's, when Elvis Presley was the hit in the US and often seen about in his hometown of Memphis. In junior high, Mary Jo and a girlfriend were visiting her big sister Sally, who lived in close proximity to Elvis' home Graceland, and one night the girls decided to try and sneak in his home to meet him. They waited until the early morning hours and then, still in their pajamas, scaled the stonewall that abuts the north side of Graceland and entered the infamous premises. They walked up to the house, and luckily found the side door leading to the Jungle Room to be open and walked in. They showed themselves all around his mansion but didn't dare go upstairs, instead carving their names into a favorite piece of Elvis's furniture. Eventually, the security guard, who was none other than Elvis' uncle, came and found the girls and sent them home with much delight.
As a teenager, Mary Jo and her little sister Lucinda would spend their summers in Los Angeles, California with their uncles Claude and Jack, who prospered in the entertainment industry, and would take the two girls about Hollywood where they would meet the movie stars of the day, including John Wayne, Errol Flynn, Jack Lemmon, and Walter Matthau to name a few. On one such visit, Mary Jo was taken to the set of the filming of "Camelot" and introduced to Fred Astaire and a picture was taken that appeared in the Newspaper that read: "When Mary Jo Spence of Dyersburg, Tennessee spent her summer vacation on the west coast, she visited the studios of Warner Brothers in Burbank, California and enjoyed a thrilling on the set visit with the greatest dancer in cinema history Fred Astaire. Fred is currently filming the multi-million dollar film and musical, "Finian's Rainbow", and was delighted to make the acquaintance of such a lovely southern Belle." These summers had a lasting impact on Mary Jo, as she relished in these memories and loved to tell the stories to others…
Mary Jo attended St. Mary's Episcopal School for Girls in Memphis where she sang in the choir and served as chapel acolyte. She graduated from Dyersburg High School, where she was a class officer and a cheerleader, as well as being chosen as one of two Outstanding Seniors of her class. After high school, Mary Jo attended the University of Mississippi, known as Ole Miss where she met her future husband, David Knight, and was a member of the Phi Mu sorority and loved Ole Miss Football. She was well-liked and the life of every party, of which there were many at Ole Miss. After marrying David, they moved to Houston in 1973, where her husband pursued a Law career and her three sons were born.
Mary Jo was a diligent housewife and avid needle pointer and became a member of the Southgate Garden Club. Mary Jo volunteered to teach art history at West University Elementary, where she exposed the young students to works of great artists such as Rembrandt, Matisse, Renoir, Toulouse Lautrec, and Picasso. David and Mary Jo divorced in 1988 and from then on she raised her three boys by herself in the Rice University area of Houston. In 1998 she found love again and was remarried to Michael Roberts. Michael and Mary Jo shared many wonderful years together and shared the same curiosity to explore and traveled the world until his untimely death in 2005. She was a great lover of dogs, of which the family had many-Sam, Rebel, Beau, Jeb, Dixie, Eloise, Belle, Rhett Butler, Minnie Pearl, Marty, Pete, Claude, Louie, Thumper, and Mammie Jane-over the years.
Mary Jo worked for many years as a saleswoman for Ralph Lauren, where she was known for her engaging personality, cheerfulness, and wit. She could and did strike up a conversation with anyone and made them feel like they were the center of the world. She would deploy her honey-tongued southern charm and a gentle avalanche of compliments to a great strategic effect. She was an avid reader, a Spence family trait, and seemed to know a lot about everything. She would often impress people with the scope and breadth of her knowledge which enabled her to achieve the honor of the number one salesman at Ralph Lauren for many years, and ultimately achieved the status of Executive Sales Professional and was a Ralph Lauren Legacy Award Honoree for 2020.
Mary Jo was an extraordinary mother and grandmother of high intelligence and a selfless nature. She exemplified a true Southern Belle, one of the last of a breed of southern women who lived with charm, manners, dignity, and maintained deep and abiding respect for her heritage all her life. She was a vivacious, magnetic person, with a gentle and kind nature to all who met her. There are those who travel through life with meaningless and mundane existence, however Mary Jo was not one of those and anyone who had the pleasure of meeting her, or more importantly gained her friendship will attest to the to that proclamation. Mary Jo will be missed by her friends and family in a way that no human words can possibly ever convey. She is survived by her sons Tucker and wife Allison, Nathan, and Patrick, as well as her grandchildren Lawson, Tucker, and Lillie Knight, all of Houston. She is also survived by her sister Lucinda and her husband Michael Mason of Birmingham, AL, sister Sally Ray of Memphis, TN and brother Lawson and his wife Mimi Spence of Atlanta, GA and many nieces and nephews.
A memorial service is to be conducted at two o'clock in the afternoon on Wednesday the 26th of July, in the Church of St. Martin's Episcopal Church, 717 Sage Rd, in Houston, where The Rev. Martin J. Bastian, Vice-Rector, is to officiate. Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception in the Bagby Parish Hall.
In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions may be directed in her name to St. Martin's Episcopal Church.
Please visit Mary Jo's online memorial tribute at GeoHLewis.com where fond memories and words of comfort and condolence may be shared electronically with her family.