Mary Helen Wilson, 86, a former resident of Fairhope and a resident of Kalamazoo, Mich., died peacefully Wednesdasy, Feb. 9, 2011, at Clare Bridge House in Portage, Mich.
She enjoyed steadfast love, caring and support from family and friends until the end.
She was born on March 11, 1924 in Graham, Texas, the third of four children of J. Wright Wilson Sr. and Esther Gray Wilson. She spent her early childhood years in Graham and Amarillo, Texas.
At the start of the Depression, her family moved to Fairhope, where she attended the Marietta Johnson School of Organic Education. She returned to Texas for high school and graduated in 1942 from El Campo High School, El Campo, Texas.
In September 1944, she enlisted in the U.S. Navy. She served as a Yeoman, 3rd class in the Navy’s WAVES (Women Enlisted for Volunteer Emergency Service) and was honorably discharged after the end of the war, in April 1946.
During her wartime service, she met and married Daniel Dougherty Witcher. After the war, the couple completed certificates in foreign trade at The American Institute of Foreign Trade (Thunderbird) in Arizona. Soon afterward, they moved to Brazil, where they lived, worked and raised their family of four children for 14 years.
In 1964, she and her family returned to Kalamazoo, Mich. She attended Western Michigan University, earning first a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish and a Master’s degree in cultural anthropology. She later was an instructor at WMU and was well known for her creative and engaging approach to teaching of undergraduate students.
She became active in the Kalamazoo YMCA in 1967 and is credited with having introduced and then built programming for women there for over 20 years. She served as one the Y’s first women lifeguards, as a fitness and swimming instructor, then as director of Women’s Programming. She later served for seven years as the first woman member of the YMCA’s Board of Directors and was a leading advocate for the inclusion of the Women’s Full Service facility in the Y’s mid 1980’s expansion.
After her marriage ended in 1982, she remained in Kalamazoo through the 1980s. In addition to her other pursuits, she was active in the Civic Theater and the Independent Play Producers, appearing in two productions. She also was a travel agent for Ambassador Travel, and later was marketing coordinator for Travel Diplomat, a woman-owned enterprise.
She returned to live in her beloved childhood home of Fairhope in 1990. She distinguished herself there as a community volunteer, serving over 1,000 hours with the Thomas Hospital Auxiliary. She was also an active volunteer for Ecumenical Ministries of Baldwin County, and for the Eastern Shore Institute of Lifelong Learning, where she taught a course in Brazilian Portuguese. Her love of travel led her to become a regular participant in Elder Hostel programs around the world. She was retained by Elder Hostel as a coordinator for local educational tours around Mobile and south Alabama. Her continuing love of theater led her to appear in several productions of Fairhope’s Theater 98, including a celebrated run of “Steel Magnolias.”
She returned to Kalamazoo in 2004. She lived at the Fountains at Bronson Place surrounded by many of her friends from earlier years. Typically, she soon became a leader in that community, serving as chair of several committees, including Books and Ideas, Activities, and Food.
She had a special ability to bring people together to explore and have fun. She was a spark and a leader in every community with which she was associated, and was never afraid to try something new. She was a lifelong Democrat, a committed egalitarian and an advocate for women’s rights and social justice. She loved intellectual arguments, but no more than she loved a good ribald joke. She lived life to learn and to have fun and touched people of all ages and backgrounds along the way. She will be forever missed.
Survivors incloude a daughter, Dr. Bethann Witcher-Cottrell (the Rev. William Cottrell), of Atlanta; three sons, Daniel D. Witcher Jr. of Sao Paulo, Brazil, J.Wright Witcher (Leslie Erickson) of Phoenix, Md., and Benjamin (Robin) Witcher of Bridgewater, Mass.; sister, Esther Young, of Foley; 14 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
A memorial birthday celebration will be held at 3 p.m. Friday, March 11 at The Fountains at Bronson Place in Kalamazoo, Mich. All who knew and loved her are welcome.
The family requests memorial donations be made to Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes, www.kzoolf.org; or to Ecumenical Ministries of Fairhope, www.baldwinemi.com.
Arrangements are by Langeland Funeral Homes, Kalamazoo, Mich. Online condolences may be made at www.langelands.com.
