Mary L. Ovenshine

Mary Louise Ovenshine, until her death the oldest living steward of her family's military legacy, died late Thursday at 90. She was the daughter, granddaughter and sister of Army generals. Her grandfather, Brig. Gen. Samuel Ovenshine, left law school to serve with the 5th U.S. Infantry during the Civil War. Her father, Brig. Gen. Alexander Thompson Ovenshine, also was a career military officer. He commanded the 23rd Infantry in the early 1930s while stationed at Fort Sam Houston. The family lived on post at the Stilwell House. A room in the house is named the Ovenshine Room. Brig. Gen. Richard Powell Ovenshine, her brother, graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1919. He fought in Korea. Samuel and Richard Ovenshine are buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Alexander Ovenshine is buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. "Mary Louise was the keeper of the family legacy," said a great-nephew, Gordon Ovenshine, a senior public relations writer at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania and a former journalist. She attended Holton-Arms, a prestigious school for girls in Bethesda, Md., but did not attend college because her father believed it wasn't necessary, said Susan Filippini, a friend. "But she was very smart, always reading," Filippini said. Ovenshine had been the personal secretary of silent movie star Pola Negri, a San Antonio resident from 1959 until her death in 1987. "It was true that Mary Louise was her secretary, but she would never talk about any of that because she didn't like to draw attention to herself," Gordon Ovenshine said. "The primary focus of her later life was the Ovenshine history and Stilwell House." Ovenshine never married and leaves no immediate survivors. MEMORIAL SERVICE WEDNESDAY JULY 11, 2007 10:00 A.M. CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH 510 BELKNAP PLACE Rev. Eric Fenton officiating. You are invited to sign the guestbook at www.porterloring.com Arrangements with Porter Loring Mortuary.