Mary Faith Pusey Pankin

PANKIN

MARY FAITH PUSEY PANKIN

Mary Faith Pusey Pankin was born on June 6, 1943, in Washington, DC to William Webb Pusey, III and Mary Hope Smith Pusey. She died of complications from Alzheimer's in Charlottesville, VA, on October 14, 2023. Her early childhood years were spent in Lexington, Virginia. She later attended Chatham Hall, Chatham, VA, for several years and finished her high school years at Southern Seminary College, Buena Vista, VA. Always an excellent student, she went on to graduate from Washburn University with a BA in French. After graduation from Washburn, she worked briefly in Alderman Library at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA, as a Library Assistant in the Manuscript Department before earning a master's degree in library science from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC.

She was an academic librarian for her entire professional career, first at Marshall University in West Virginia, then the University of Maryland, and later for many years at Gelman Library at George Washington University in Washington, DC. She was a brilliant researcher and many of her articles were selected to be printed in various historical journals. In addition, she also served on several committees for the American Library Association and volunteered for many years at the Arlington, VA public library.

Mary Faith met the love of her life, Mark David Pankin, during her years at Marshall University, where he was a math professor at the time. They were married for over 40 years, prior to his death in 2021, and they shared the love of traveling both internationally and domestically. She was an avid gardener and, in her retirement, perfected her water-coloring acumen, often painting pictures of the places they visited on their travels.

She will be very much missed by her sister, Diana Pickral (James) of Lake Monticello, VA; her nephew Michael Pickral (Jennifer) also of Lake Monticello, her niece, Mary Hope Pickral (Marc Perdue) of Charlottesville, VA, her great-nephew, Nicholas Perdue also of Charlottesville, her great-niece Rachel Pankin of Hampton, VA; her cousins, Julia Moore of Akron, OH, Richard Moore (Dianne) of Port Orange, FL, and many very special friends. A memorial service will be held at a later time. Memorial Contributions may be sent to the Goodwin Living Foundation, 4800 Fillmore Ave., Alexandria, VA 22311.