Tributes

Mary Kight was born in April 1947 and raised in Northeast Texas on a family farm, complete with chickens, hogs, and cattle. An extremely competitive person from the get-go and one who enjoyed challenges, Mary was very active in high school, participating in everything available, including band, basketball, volleyball, Future Homemakers, and yearbook staff. From there, in 1964, at age 17, she attended The University of Texas at Austin, graduating with a BBA in Business Education in 1968. She thoroughly enjoyed her college years, and the friends she made there were lifelong ones. (She also loved to point out that not everyone who went to school at UT was wild and crazy and was fortunate to have friends with a very strong moral compass.) Mary and her husband Charles were introduced through a mutual friend at UT and were married in 1967. As newlyweds, Mary worked and supported Charles while he finished his MBA and entered the Air Force. She always referred to this time with great reverence – a financially challenging and busy time, full of hard work, but one she wouldn't have traded for anything. She had her first two children, Amanda, then Bryan, when Charles was in the Air Force, and then Amy came along in 1979. The family moved to San Antonio in 1973 and lived there until moving to New Braunfels in 2010, when Charles retired. Throughout her working life, Mary excelled at a variety of occupations. She taught kindergarten, taught business courses, served as a substitute teacher, and started her own transcription business. Even though she was very successful professionally, she considered her role as mother and caretaker her biggest and most important job, always prioritizing her family’s needs above her own. She also volunteered as a PTA officer, Band Booster officer, and did just about anything else the schools asked her to do. Mary was a font of knowledge on any and every subject matter, be it fixing an air conditioner, identifying animal scat, or repairing a fraught relationship. She was a dead-eye shot with a BB gun, had a memory like a steel trap, and lived her life treating all living things with kindness and compassion. Mary was a person of enormous faith and indomitable spirit. She spent many years active in church, teaching preschool and Vacation Bible School, and doing anything else that needed doing. She shared a deep passion for women’s advocacy, children’s healthcare, and the democratic process. She was always willing to lend a hand to anyone in need. In her later years, Mary enjoyed reading, gardening, cooking, travel, water aerobics, wildlife watching in her yard, and visiting national parks. All of these loves and a deep appreciation for life she shared with her beloved grandchildren. She was, in so many ways, the world’s greatest grandmother. Mary Kight died suddenly, at home, on November 6, 2020, after complications from a recent surgery. She is survived by Charles, her husband of 52 years, her three children and their spouses, six grandchildren (ages 5 to 22 years old), a very loyal dog, and a cantankerous cat. She was deeply loved by her family and friends and will be profoundly missed. We love you, Mom! SERVICE A Private Interment will be on Thursday, November 12, 2020 at Mission Burial Park North. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you consider a donation to School Fuel San Marcos: https://www.schoolfuelsanmarcos.org/

Tributes

Mary Kight

April 4, 1947 - November 6, 2020