Mary Ann Motley

1939 - 2025

Mary Ann Motley
02/06/1939 - 10/15/2025
Mary Ann Motley, age 86, passed away on October 15, 2025 from complications of heart disease. A long-time resident of Southeast Houston, she was born on February 6, 1939 in Chappell Hill, Texas to Frank Felchak and Mary Cegielski Felchak, whose parents were Polish immigrants.
She moved to Houston at age 4 with her parents and her sister, Dorothy joining a brother, Frank and two other sisters, Martha and Natalie.
Mary Ann attended Christ the King Elementary School and was a 1957 graduate of Incarnate Word Academy. Following high school, she married John M. Motley in 1958. In addition to raising a family of five children, she had a 29-year-long career at HISD's Hartman Middle School on Westover St., providing clerical assistance to guidance counselors.
As part of her deep Catholic faith, Mary Ann was a prayer warrior. She was a parishioner of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church, locating in the surrounding community in 1960. She continued to partake in Sunday Mass there via her iPad in recent years upon relocating to Trinity Oaks Assisted Living in Pearland, Texas. She had a heartfelt devotion to Our Lady of Knock, Ireland, whose shrine she was privileged to visit while in Ireland.
As a voracious reader, Mary Ann enjoyed the Houston Chronicle as well as novels. Notably, her love of reading spread particularly to Amish themed novels, sometimes reading two or three of them a week. She also loved reading cookbooks, especially Texas-based community cookbooks, and had amassed a collection of over 400 such publications.
Mary Ann loved cooking and baking – specializing in fried chicken strips and pies. She was a devoted grandmother and great-grandmother, attending concerts, sporting events, and award ceremonies with pride. She never hesitated to indulge her grandchildren – whether buying raffle tickets, book fair finds, or anything else that caught their eye. She also delighted in sharing her love of cooking with them.
Mary Ann was preceded in death by her husband John and her granddaughter Grace Motley. She is survived by her five children, Frank Motley, Marilyn Boss and husband Steve, Tim Motley and wife Mary, Melanie Zelenka and husband Don, and Charley Motley and wife Terri Cole, grandchildren, Andrew Motley and fiancé Ana Voss, David Boss, Dylan Motley and fiancé Tara Fox, Leon Motley, Megan Murrell and husband Leslie Murrell , Laura Boss and husband Mason Hunter, Bridget Mapes and fiancé Christopher Bayne and Emma Motley, great granddaughter Maddie Motley and great grandson Lincoln Murrell and by extended family, Adam and Joy Sweeney and their daughters Cailynn and Brianna.
Friends and family are cordially invited to a visitation from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM on Wednesday, October 22, 2025 at South Park Funeral Home, 1310 N Main St, Pearland, TX, where a recital of the Holy Rosary will commence at 6:30 PM.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be conducted at 10:00 AM on Thursday, October 23, 2025 at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, 6723 Whitefriars Dr, Houston, TX 77087, with Father Randy Gibbens officiating. The burial will follow at South Park Cemetery in Pearland, Texas.