Mary Evelyn McAfee

Mary Evelyn Arnold McAfee was born in Memphis, Tennessee on November 6, 1928 to Walter and Ruby Baggett Arnold. She grew up in Memphis and graduated with honors from Memphis Tech High School in 1947 - a member of the National Honor Society. She grew up in a large, extended, loving, and very musical family.  They loved God, the  Church, each other, music and fun! She was baptized as a young teenager and was a lifelong member of the Church of Christ.   Then and throughout her life her devotion remained to God, the Church, and her family.    She met the love of her life, William D. (Mac) McAfee, in Memphis while he was attending the Southern College of Optometry and they married on March 24, 1950. She was his Southern Belle and he loved her dearly.  Like so many of that generation, they worked and "scraped by" until he graduated and became an optometrist.  They left her beloved Memphis and family to begin a home in Carlisle, Kentucky where they lived for four years until moving to Somerset, Kentucky in 1956.  She was truly a helpmeet for her husband, helping out part-time in his office during those early years  while still being a wife and mother at home.   Mary was a devoted Christian, wife, and mother and the consummate homemaker.  She loved being at home and doing all the things a wife and mother does for her family.  She was a wonderful hostess - when you went to her home, you knew you would have fun, laughter, and good food!  Her chocolate pies were legendary!  Mary was truly a "happy homemaker".    Simply,  Mary loved her husband, children and grandchildren with all her heart and soul.  She was the best mother anyone could ever have - loving and encouraging.    She took special joy in her grandchildren, loving each one, and even in her seventies would get down on the floor to play with and climb on swing sets to play with her last grandchild.   Mary had a beautiful voice, having sung on radio shows with her sisters in Memphis during her teenage years and many times through the years with her family,  who were professional singers and musicians.  She was a fabulous yodeler and everyone loved to hear her!   She sang at countless weddings and funerals and - most loved and remembered by her own family -  at home around the house she was always singing.   Her other great musical love was the piano, which she played beautifully by ear.  Very few days passed in her life when she did not play the piano, even playing for the residents of the Neighborhood. She belonged to the Moonbeam Homemakers Club for 54 years - a lifetime member, and also was a member of the Somerset Woman's Club for many years. She and Mac loved to play Bridge and Rook and spent many fun nights playing with other couples and their kids and grandkids.   She decided to work at Belks Department Store in her later years and worked there for six years.  She loved being there, meeting people, and having fun with her co-workers.   Mary had many friends through the years and to know her was to love her. One special friend who cared for and loved her both at her home and at the Neighborhood was Bernice Whitaker.  Mary was generous and kind to all -  always believing the best in others - and always there to help those in need. She embodied what a Christian should be.     She and Mac moved to the Neighborhood of Somerset when their health declined and she was an inspiration to all who knew her there.  She was, to the end, uncomplaining, kind, and happy.  The family wishes to thank especially Sharon Reynolds and the staff of The Neighborhood for their loving care. We also thank ALL of her caregivers through the years for their constant care.   She was smart, funny, kind, and cheerful, and always looked on the sunny side of life. We miss her infectious laugh!   She leaves behind to cherish her memory her children Linda Joyce Harris of Richmond, Ky., David Wesley McAfee (Jackie) of Hardinsburg, Ky.,  and Beverly Anne Manley (Nat) of Cookeville, Tn.; grandchildren - Jonathon Daniel Fagan, William Ryan Fagan, Andrew Edwards Manley, Tanya Renee Stevens, Tiffany Anne Harris, Joshua Evan Harris; one great grandchild Preston Daniel Fagan.  Also surviving her are her brother-in-law and sister-in-law  Dr. James and Jean McAfee, sister-in-law and brother-in-law Mr. and Mrs. Ed Tranter, sister-in-law P.A. Arnold, beloved nieces, nephews, cousins, and a host of friends.  She was preceded in death by her husband of 60 years, her infant son, Larry Douglas Mcafee, her parents, her sisters Mildred Crouse and Garnett Rhodes, and her brothers, Earl Arnold and Jim Arnold, and their spouses.   Visitation for Mary will be at Pulaski Funeral Home in Somerset, Kentucky,  from 12:00 to 1:30 on Friday December 16, 2016 with service to follow .   Should you prefer to give to a charity in lieu of flowers, suggestions would be The Cumberland Church of Christ, Turner Rd., Somerset, Ky, or God's Food Pantry, Somerset, Ky