Mary Witcher Mauldin

1927 - 2020

God needed a Captain for his Ladies Golf Team so he called Mary to take the job. Mary was born in Brownfield, Texas on Oct 10th 1927 to parents J.C. and Dena Lou (Bingham) Bohannan. At age 5 they relocated to Lovington, NM, where she grew up. During the 1930s she spent some time at her Uncle Granville Bohannan's ranch in Midland County and enjoyed her time with cousins Willeta Cook and Jerry Davis Bohannan. She graduated from Lovington High in 1945 and immediately went to work at the Hobbs airbase as clerk in the parts for repairing B-17s. Soon after she renewed acquaintances with some she had known before the war, Marvin D. Witcher and they were wed on March 8, 1947. A bit of a problem cropped up, her father a carpenter had just remodeled the church and assailed the couple that he had not built the center aisle wide enough for two people. He was only kidding. The newlyweds moved to Santa Fe so Marvin could work as a fireman at Los Alamos. Mary took a temporary job with her cousin Willeta (Cook) Lewis at the capitol but soon Lovington was calling so they returned to Lea County. Soon after Marvin Jr. was born in 1948. Mary got involved in putting HUBBY through college. Marvin enrolled at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, NM later transferring to the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque for him to finish his education. They then moved back to Hobbs where Marvin Sr. took a job selling drill bits in the oil patch and was very successful. In the fifties he won them a trip to the company headquarters in Houston. As they flew to Houston the co-pilot walked back into the cabin and Mary quipped I hope there's another one up there, the group rode her high the rest of the trip. In 1954 their daughter Lou Ann was born. When she was 3 weeks old they were transferred to Lake Charles, LA area. Mary got her fill of rainy weather there. The time in Lake Charles lasted approximately one year and they came back to Hobbs. Mary joined the Lovington Chapter Order of the Eastern Star where she was very active. She served as Worthy Matron in 1963 with her longtime friend Walter Beverly. She became a 50 year member in OES in 2009. Mary also served as a Cub Scout den mother and was active in Order of DeMolay mothers club and Order of Rainbow board. After seeing both of their children complete High School in Hobbs, Mary and Marvin moved to Midland. Marvin continued to be successful as he went to work for Drilco Company in Midland. They arrived in 1972 and decided to rent an apartment instead of purchasing a house. They moved in to the new Andalusian Apartments and became friends with the owner. He was killed in an accident overseas and his wife hired Mary to be the Manager and with a free apartment. Frugal Mary saved money so they could purchase a home on Cree Meadows Golf Course in Ruidoso where she in 1960 had played her first round of golf. She and Marvin spent many happy hours together on the golf course. When Drilco closed in 1986 they moved to Ruidoso and planned to enjoy their time there. Unfortunately Marvin Sr. died in 1990. The children wanted her to move back to Midland but she had so many friends on the golf course she decided to stay. She had many exciting things going on at Cree Meadows, Tournaments and her Midland girls who would stay with her and play many rounds of golf. In 1993 they held a special tournament and Kathy Whitworth was the featured player. When Mary got to play a round with Kathy, Mary bragged she bested Kathy on one hole. In February 1997 Lou Ann her daughter was killed in Midland. The granddaughter Ashley was only 10 and Mary decided to relocate back to Midland to be close to her son and granddaughter. She joined First Christian Church and began her leadership roles all over, she became the chairwoman of the churches CWF and President of the Fellowship Class. As chair of the CWF she was involved in the dedication of the Dolly Neal Chapel at Midland College. Many of the church members had moved from Hobbs and she knew many of them. Soon thereafter one of her golfing friends asked her to go on a cruise from New York to Bermuda. She and Nancy Gill got to go on the real Love Boat and the people dubbed them the Texas Girls. She did have a love of cruising. In 2004, she was asked to a Rotary function by a Mr. Jim Mauldin she accepted and in August of that year they were married by Rev. Tommy Potter. Rev Potter was a Cub Scout under Jim's time in Dallas as a Scout Leader. Mary's love of cruising rubbed off on Jim and they enjoyed several cruises. One was to Hawaii and in Honolulu they saw many naval artifacts. Marvin Sr. was on submarines during WWII and in 2007 she got to tour a submarine just like the one he was on she related many of the details she had heard from him. The most extensive cruise was a 3 week cruise to the Panama Canal. Her comment the day before we were to leave "3 weeks?". The last 3 years have not been kind to Mary. She fell in May of 2017 and broke her left femur just below the hip. Mary and Marvin were active in Dr. John Dean's younger years. Marvin and Thurston Dean were horse buddies. Thurston was a competitor in cutting horses and Mary and Marvin would take the kids and horses to a competition and Thurston was so busy with his practice he would rush to compete and then race home to his work. Mary and Marvin would load the horses and kids and come back to Midland. When John was notified of Mary's break he sent Dr. Dickens to do the work. It took Mary a while to recover but she was doing pretty good until February 2018 when she broke her same leg just above the knee. Dr. Dickens fixed her again but a medicine she was taking for other problems caused her to be a wheel chair patient for the rest of her days. Mary is survived by her husband, Jim Mauldin; son, Marvin D. Witcher Jr. and wife Sammie of Midland; Granddaughter, Ashley Diane Duvall of Dallas; brothers, Granville Bohannan of Overland Park, KS, Jerry Bohannan of Albuquerque, NM; sister, Dorothy Maxwell and husband Dwayne of Albuquerque, NM. Mary was preceded by her parents; brother, Harold Gordon; sister, Sue Mann; and daughter, Lou Ann Duvall. A memorial service is planned for a later date. Burial will take place on August 28, 2020 in Ruidoso, NM. The family wishes to thank the many healthcare workers at St. Joseph Home Health Group and Home Hospice who cared for her in her last days. In lieu of flowers memorial donations can be directed to First Christian Church scholarship fund or a charity of one's choice. A final question is, "Will her wings interfere with her golf swing?" Arrangements are under the direction of Nalley-Pickle & Welch Funeral Home & Crematory of Midland. Online condolences may be made at www.npwelch.com.