Mary Lynn Netherland

After a long life where she touched so many other lives, Mary Netherland went home to be with her Lord on November 18, 2025. Born Mary Lynn Miller on October 3, 1936, to Russell and Iva Miller in Campbellsville, Kentucky, Mary was the youngest of 3 children and the only girl. Mary endured much teasing from her brothers, Dale and Deston, but gave as good as she got. She counted their wives, Dorene and Gloria, among her dearest friends.

Mary graduated from Campbellsville High School in May 1954 and married Ed Netherland the following December when he returned from his service in the U.S. Army.

For the first 23 years of their married life, Mary worked as a stay-at-home mom to their four children – Phyllis, Linda, Lora, and Chuck – while Ed completed bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Kentucky in Lexington and began a career in civil service, first in Litchfield, Kentucky, then in Princeton, Kentucky, and finally in Denver, Colorado.

During their time in Princeton, Mary was an active member of the Ogden United Methodist Church, where she sang in the choir and served in the women's ministry. Mary and Ed volunteered with the 4-H Club and worked at the snack bar during football games to support the High School band.

Then on August 28, 1978, Ed died of a sudden heart attack at his home in Littleton, Colorado. After funeral services in Littleton, Ed's remains were flown back to Kentucky, where he was laid to rest at Campbellsville Memorial Gardens.

Mary returned to Lexington, home of longtime friends, Pat and Clyde Brown, and vacationed with them in Ft. Myers, Florida, where she found great joy in collecting shells along the beach. Determined to make a life for herself, she moved to Florida permanently, resumed the nursing school she had begun in Littleton, finished her degree, and went to work at Cape Coral Hospital.

Mary's next move was to Lubbock, Texas, in 1985, where she lived with her daughter, Lora, and Lora's young daughter, Ashley, while Lora finished her undergraduate degree. The next year, Mary's second granddaughter, Kayla, was born to daughter, Phyllis, and Phyllis' husband, David, also in Lubbock.

Soon after, Mary returned to her life in Florida and was living there on October 13, 1987, when she received word that her son, Chuck, had been killed in a motorcycle accident in Arkansas. Mary's entire family gathered around her in Campbellsville, and Chuck was laid to rest beside his daddy.

Mary now left Florida for good and moved back to Lubbock, and there went to work at Methodist (now Covenant) Hospital, and was present for the birth of her grandson, Kevin, son of Phyllis and David, in March 1989.

Then in August 1990, Lora and Ashley moved to Austin so Ashley could attend Texas School for the Deaf. Over the next several years, Mary alternated living in Lubbock and in Austin but finally settled in Austin, working at St. David's Hospital until her retirement and sharing a home with Lora and Ashley. Linda, meanwhile, had been a hotel manager in Florida, in Ft. Worth, and in Houston, but eventually moved to Austin as well, and in 2010 they all purchased a home together. To these three generations of women was added a fourth, with the birth of Ashley's daughters, Tala in 2015 and Akira in 2018.

In 2020, Mary got her wish that Phyllis and David would also live in the Austin area, when they moved to Georgetown, north of Austin, seven houses away from their daughter, Kayla, Kayla's husband, Trevor, and their boys, Caspian, born in 2014, and Darren, born in 2020.

For the last years of her life, and especially during the 5 months she was in hospice care, Mary enjoyed being surrounded by her family. Grandson Kevin lived in Virginia, but he, too, made special trips to be with his grandma.

What were Mary's favorite things?

She loved scriptures that spoke of her trust in God.

Psalm 121:

I will lift up my eyes unto the hills-

Where does my help come from?

My help comes from the LORD,

Who made heaven and earth.

And this one from Proverbs 3:5-6:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

And lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge him

And He will direct your paths.

Mary loved her church family at Oak Hill United Methodist Church, where she was active in the Wednesday Morning Study Group and the Mary / Martha Circle. She went to lunch with her friends every Sunday after church, and when she was no longer able to attend church in person, she would watch online.

Mary loved oyster dressing at Thanksgiving and Christmas and had fun teasing the rest of us who didn't care for it. She loved cardinals, the state bird of Kentucky, and owned a ceramic cardinal with a soundbox that made the song of a cardinal – which she would slyly play to startle her family.

But most of all, she loved the Gaither Vocal Band and the Gaither Homecoming show. In her last years, she watched the Gaither TV channel 24/7. Her favorite member of the group was Wes Hampton, and she talked often about his book of WEScipes. She loved his song, "I'll Pray for You". David and Lora recently met Wes, who graciously signed one of his books for Mary.

But her favorite Gaither song was "Because He Lives", by Bill and Gloria Gaither, which her family sang to her every week in the last months of her life. The last verse says:

And then one day, I'll cross that river,

I'll fight life's final war with pain.

And then as death gives way to victory,

I'll see the lights of glory, and I'll know He reigns!

Mary crossed that river wearing her "Because He Lives" t-shirt.

Mary is preceded in death by her husband, Ed Netherland, her son, Charles Russell "Chuck" Netherland, her brothers and their wives, her husband's siblings and most of their spouses, and too many friends to count.

Those left to cherish her memory are one sister-in-law, Barbara Ann Netherland of Campbellsville, Kentucky; daughter Phyllis and husband David Powell of Georgetown, Texas; daughters Linda and Lora Netherland of Austin, Texas; granddaughter Ashley Netherland of Austin; granddaughter Kayla Keele and husband Trevor of Georgetown; grandson Kevin Powell of Roanoke, Virginia; great-grandchildren Caspian, Tala, Akira, and Darren, who call her GG for Great-Grandma; and many nieces and nephews to whom she is known as Aunt Mary Lynn.

Mary will be interred at Campbellsville Memorial Gardens in Campbellsville, Kentucky, alongside her husband and son.

The family wishes to thank AccentCare, who provided Mary with home health care and loving hospice care.

Mary's memorial service will be held on Sunday, December 7th at 3:00 p.m. at Oak Hill United Methodist Church, 7815 US-290, Austin, TX. Donations may be made to Oak Hill United Methodist Church in Austin.