Mary Ann Boykin passed away at her home in McKinney, Texas on Sunday, October 02, 2016. She was born September 03, 1937, in Gastonia, North Carolina, to J. C. Carothers, Sr., and Ola Pressley Carothers. She was a 1955 graduate of Gastonia High School and a 1959 graduate of The Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Greensboro (now UNC-G) where she earned the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in art advertising. She earned the Master of Arts degree from the University of Houston at Clear Lake in 1979 and taught at the University from 1980 until her retirement in 2005. She especially enjoyed teaching art to young children.
In 1962, she married Wilber R. Boykin of Zebulon, North Carolina, whom she met in 1958 on a blind date while she was a student at Woman’s College and he was a student at UNC-Chapel Hill. They moved to the Houston area where he was employed by the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. Mary Ann and her husband are the parents of two adult children, Dr. Timothy B. Boykin of Huntsville, Alabama, and Melissa Ann Norris of Bentonville, Arkansas. Melissa and her husband Mike Norris are the parents of two adult children, Michael B. Norris of Austin, Texas, and Emily N. Norris, a junior at the University of Oklahoma in Norman.
Mary Ann was involved at Stonebriar Community Church attending services and Sunday school as well as in the Women’s Bible Studies at First Baptist Church in McKinney. Mary Ann loved the Lord and leaned heavily on her faith during her battle with pancreatic cancer. Her goal throughout her yearlong battle was to serve the Lord in front of all those she encountered, which we feel she accomplished. She kept a loving, gentle spirit with everyone she met at the cancer treatment facilities and elsewhere throughout her life.
Mary Ann loved her family after the Lord and was a loving, encouraging wife, mother, and grandmother. She instilled a love for art in her children, grandchildren, and the many students she taught in art school during her 25 year career. She will be missed greatly by us all.
Mary Ann is survived by her husband of 54 years, Wilber; her children, Timothy and Melissa; and her grandchildren, Michael and Emily. She is also survived by her older brother, J. C. “Buddy” Carothers, Jr., of Lake Wylie, South Carolina and his wife Phyllis; their daughter, Carol Lineberger; her younger brother, Samuel B. Carothers of Raleigh, North Carolina and his wife, Linda; their son, Jay Carothers and his wife, Janey; their daughter, Lacey Pegram and her husband, Jonathan; and several nieces and nephews.
One of Mary Ann’s favorite verses is Mark 12:29-31: “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
The family will receive friends during a visitation on Thursday evening, October 6, 2016, from 6:00-8:00 pm at Turrentine Jackson Morrow Funeral Home, 2525 Central Expressway North, Allen, Texas. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Friday, October 7, 2016 at Stonebriar Community Church, 4801 Legendary Drive, Frisco, Texas 75034. Private graveside services at the Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery, Dallas, Texas will precede the memorial service.
The family has requested that memorial contributions be made to one of the following in memory of Mary Ann Boykin: The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network; Visiting Nurses’ Association (VNA), 5601 Virginia Parkway, Suite 1, McKinney, Texas 75070; or the church or charity of your choice.