Obituary of Mary F. Alford

Mary Maxine Fry Alford, 91, born May 30, 1920, passed away on Thursday, February 23, 2012, in her home, 156 Donnies Drive, Boone, North Carolina, surrounded by her family. Mary grew up in Morrill, Kansas and is the daughter of the late Clayton George and Mary Malinda Fry. Mary was preceded in death by her husband of 29 years, Hugh Inman Alford, Jr., sisters Lois Katherine Meyers, Dorothy Jean Fry Ronan, and Anne Fry Brent and brother Clayton George Fry. She is survived by four children, seven grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren: Douglas (Regina) Clayton Alford, Katherine Ann Alford, and Pamela Maxine Alford Campbell, all of Boone and Patsy (Ken) Jean Alford Reeves of Wilson, North Carolina. Grandchildren: Heather Michelle Campbell, Katherine (Britt) Marie Campbell Bendell, Melissa (B.J.) Jeanette Reeves Ongaro, Melinda (Jarvis, Jr.) Laurel Reeves Peaden, Robert Inman Campbell, Melanie Ann Reeves, and Emily Regina Alford. Great-grandchildren: Chasity Madison Ongaro, Jace Britton Bendell, Jarvis William Peaden, III (Jay), Bradley Joseph Ongaro, and Bayden Elizabeth Bendell. The family will receive friends on Saturday, February 25 from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. at Austin & Barnes Funeral Home, 194 Queen Street, Boone. A graveside service celebrating Mary's life will be held on Monday, February 27at 1:00 p.m. in Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh, North Carolina. Mary was the matriarch of her household who dedicated her life to raising her family. In addition, she worked as a nurse for a number of years and received her RN degree from St. Francis Nursing School (now Newman University) in Wichita, Kansas in the mid-1940s.After completing school, she began her career as an RN nurse at Memorial Herman Hospital in Kerrville, Texas as a floor nurse. Notably, one of her professor's at Herman was Dr. Michael E. DeBakey who is known for creating the first heart transplant valve. In the late 1940s, she served at a VA Hospital near Kerrville, Texas. While there, she met and married her husband, Hugh Inman Alford, Jr., a World War II veteran who later became an entomologist for the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. After raising her children, she returned to the workforce as a Registered Nurse at The Governor Morehead School for the Blind in Raleigh and then as a night duty nurse at Mayview Convalescent Center in Raleigh. During the last decade of her life, she enjoyed living in her mountain house that her son built for her, spending time and giving advice to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, keeping up with national politics by watching C-SPAN and PBS, going on picnics on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and traveling to see her family. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Watauga Medical Center, The Seby B. Jones Regional Cancer Center, Deerfield Road, P.O. Box 2600, Boone, NC 28607. Online condolences may be sent to the family at the website austinandbarnesfuneralhome.com. Austin & Barnes Funeral Home and Crematory is serving the Alford family.