Mary E. Pritchard

• Born: May 9, 1932
• Died: July 7, 2016
• Location: Story, AR

Mary E. Pritchard of Story, Ark., went to be with the Lord on July 7, 2016. She was preceded in death by her mother and father, Mandy and Fletcher Hewett, two brothers and a sister. She leaves behind her husband of 56 years, Charles “Chuck” Pritchard, Sr.; her son, Charles “Chuck/Chip”, Jr.; (his wife, Dagny); a grandson, Charles “Chaz”, III; her daughter, Cheri, and two granddaughters, Amanda and Alyssa. She also leaves behind her sister-in-law, aunts/uncles, many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.

Many of her children’s friends thought of her as a second mom, and she loved taking care of them, too. One of Mrs. Pritchard’s greatest pleasures was cooking a large meal for family and friends. If you’ve ever had the honor of sitting at her dinner table, you know she fixed something everyone liked and you always pushed away from the table full and satisfied. Even though she never met a stranger and she loved to meet and please people, her greatest love was her family. If they were happy, her world was right.

Ms. Mary grew up on the coast of North Carolina (Shallotte/Wilmington area) with her extended family and friends, but met her true love in Florida. He was a career Air Force man, and the two of them enjoyed dancing, gardening, shooting skeet and raising their children. Mrs. Pritchard worked at the Bell Telephone Company for 18 years, making her way up to floor supervisor. She selflessly gave up her career to travel with her husband and family overseas in support of Mr. Pritchard’s career in the Air Force.

She always put her family and others first, working in her children’s schools, later working at the senior center in Mt. Ida, helping others, and then traveling across the U.S. and Canada with her husband when he worked for a major trucking company.

Mrs. Pritchard even traveled with her daughter on temporary duty assignments while she was in the Air Force so her daughter wouldn’t be separated from her children. Mrs. Pritchard also enjoyed taking vacations with her children and grandchildren most summers. She loved to travel, meet new people and see new sights, especially if she could do it with her family. She would willingly drop what she was doing to help her family and friends whenever she could. Her husband knew this brought her great joy and though he didn’t like to be away from her, he encouraged her be with her family and friends when they needed her most.

She expressed a great amount of gratitude for all of her many friends, and her family in North Carolina. She said she felt very fortunate God put each of you in her life. She felt blessed to have known so many wonderful people. Even though she wanted to accept your offers to visit or help, she knew she needed to spend that time with her immediate family and focus her energy on them. She said she felt everyone who truly knew her would understand. She loved all of you.

She also wanted to thank everyone at CHI St. Vincent’s and Arkansas Hospice Care who took care of her during her final days. She said you were a blessing from God. She asked that everyone continue to pray for the doctors and nurses of the world. They do great things for families.

From the Pritchard family, thank you and God bless.

In lieu of sending flowers or cards, Ms. Mary wanted her family and friends to make a donation in her name to their favorite charity or to a cancer research charity.

Mrs. Pritchard was sent for cremation under the direction of Thornton Funeral Home of Mount Ida, AR. Guest Register at www.thorntonfh.com