Mary Durham Stroupe's Obituary
Mary Durham Stroupe, 97, of Memphis, passed away peacefully Tuesday January 7, 2014 after a brief illness. She was born August 5, 1916 in Memphis, to the late Mae Street and Fay Holmes Durham. Mary grew up in Memphis with her parents & three other siblings in the Cox Summit neighborhood south of Union Ave. She attended Central High School and graduated with a GED after her father died while she was a teenager. She spent her early career as a bookkeeper for one of the early car dealerships in town until she married and became a mother, busy homemaker and active volunteer with several groups in the Whitehaven area. When her two children were in elementary school, she returned to school at Memphis State and received a B. A. and MBA in education, graduating cum laude in both. She taught Vocational Office Education for the Shelby County and Memphis City school systems at Mt. Pisgah, Raleigh Egypt and Whitehaven High Schools. Several of her classes competed in and won championships at the state level in VOE competitions. Mary is remembered for her joy of life and her love of family and friends. She was a devoted reader all of her life, prolific gardener, artist and the best cook that anybody knew. She was able to live in the home that she and her husband built in Whitehaven for almost sixty years up until about three years ago. She had well over one thousand books in her home library and if you borrowed one, she would often ask if you had reached a certain part in the book. She had the sharpest memory of any ninety-year-old anybody knew. She was a member of Whitehaven United Methodist Church and in her final years was always tuned in to the First Baptist Church broadcast on Sunday morning. The staff at Belmont Village often came to her to discuss the Bible and His teaching. She was preceded in death by her husband Lester Coombs Stroupe, Sr. She is survived by her two children, Lester C. “Butch” (Diane) Stroupe, Jr., of Franklin, Tn., James Lee (Cindy) Stroupe, of Chattanooga, Tn.; grandchildren, Renee Anderson, of Lakeland, Tn., Justin (Brittany) Stroupe, of Cordova, Tn., Jordan (Amber) Stroupe, of Memphis, Tn.; great-grandchildren Tyler Anderson of Lakeland, Tn. Sister Nelda Horton of Byhalia, Ms. She also leaves behind special friends Hosie and Shirley Richard and Chester and Ola Taylor. A special thank you to the staff at Belmont Village. Visitation will be held Thursday, January 9 from 9-10:30 a.m. with a funeral service following at Memorial Park Funeral Home. Burial will be held at Hinds Chapel Cemetery in Lake Cormorant, Ms. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5668 Poplar Ave. Memphis, TN 38119, (901)767-8930, “Behind the Stone Wall”
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