Mary Evelyn "Sister" Devereaux

Mary Evelyn “Sister” Devereaux, 99, of Holt, Florida, passed away on Thursday, April 14, 2022 after a stroke. She is survived by her son, Morris Devereaux of Holt, Florida, her grandson Michael Devereaux and her great grand-daughter Avery Devereaux of Crestview, Florida and her sister, Peggye Sewell of Petal, Mississippi. The funeral will be held at 2:00 at the Chapel of Parrott Funeral Home in Fairburn, Georgia on Wednesday, April 20, 2022 with interment to follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens in College Park, Georgia. Dr. William (Bill) Lacy, officiating. The family will have visitation preceding the service from 1:00 until 2:00 p.m. at Parrott Funeral Home, 8355 Senoia Road, Hwy 74 in Fairburn, Georgia. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta: Scottish Rite Hospital. Mary was born on September 19, 1922 to John and Willie Hight in Sparta, Georgia. She was the second of six children: Mildred, Mary, John, Charles, Carl and Peggye. But while she was the second oldest, she was almost the “baby” of the family. A victim of both Scarlet Fever and Rheumatic Fever in a poor farming area in rural Georgia, she was a sickly child who had to miss over a year of school to be cared for at home. She had medical problems all the way up through early middle age. Her early years were no indication of the long and productive life she was destined to have. After graduation from Sparta High School, she married her sweetheart, Sam M. Devereaux of Devereux, Georgia. The couple moved to Augusta where they worked at the Augusta Arsenal during World War II. After the war, they moved to Atlanta where they bought a Shell Service Station and lived in the West End/Cascade Heights area for the next twenty-five years. They were members of Cascade Baptist Church where she was heavily involved in volunteering for everything from the nursery to Bible School. During this time, their family grew when she gave birth to their only son, Samuel Morris Devereaux. Mary was still small and frail, spending almost the entire pregnancy in bed. She was strongly advised not to try to have other children, so she and Sam doted on and spoiled their one child. She was very active at Arkwright Grammar School with paper sales and Halloween Carnivals, serving as chaperone and organizer. This was a defining characteristic of Mary’s life…she was a helper. No matter what the job, how many hours it required or how hard the work, she was always there to dive in and help those she loved. Family was always the most important thing in her life, particularly the children in the family. After her son Morris was old enough to drive and take care of himself, she helped take care of the children of her baby sister, Peggye and her husband Pete Sewell. She loved Ken and Karen and took great joy in sitting for them. In the early 1970’s the family moved to College Park where she became a member of Forest Hills Baptist Church and later, Shadner Baptist Church. During this time, she helped care for her brother Carl’s two children, Jonathan and Carla. She was always helping raise the young children in the family. But nothing gave her greater pleasure than her next charge. In the 1980’s she cared for her own grandson, Michael for a number of years. But it wasn’t all child care. Although Sam’s health prevented him from coming with her, during these years, she enjoyed many trips with members of her church. She visited everywhere from Canada to Niagara Falls to Branson, Missouri to Mount Rushmore. She enjoyed the fellowship of her church family along with her sister Mildred and even her own mother Willie Hight, who was in her nineties during these trips. She continued her life of caring for her family when her mother became a widow and came to live with her until her death in 1997. And then she continued her life as a caregiver. Her husband Sam suffered from Diverticulitis and considerable problems with his vascular system. He became unable to perform most everyday tasks and she was there for him as she was for everyone else. She spent her days almost single handedly taking care of the house, shuttling him to doctor’s appointments and sitting with him in the hospital after numerous surgeries. Finally, that task ended as well upon his death after sixty-six years of marriage, on August 19, 2008. Shortly thereafter, she went to live with her son Morris and his wife Rita in Roswell, Georgia. During those years she was a joy for them as she taught Rita the art of gardening and soon due to their efforts, the house was a beautiful garden with flowers everywhere. Later, when breast cancer struck Rita, she again took up her role of caregiver even in her late eighties as she cooked meals that Rita would eat, in spite of the effects of chemotherapy on Rita’s taste senses. In fact, the last real meal Rita would enjoy would be a small plate of “shrimp and grits” made by her loving mother-in-law. After Rita’s death, she agreed with her son Morris that they should move to Holt, Florida, where they could help grandson Michael and great-granddaughter Avery as Michael took on a mid-life career challenge to follow his grandmother in a life of caring for others as he studied to become a registered nurse. He now specializes in those afflicted with behavioral issues as an RN in Mental Health. Even in her advanced years, she continued to help. She even broke her hip in 2000 as she tripped on a sock while doing great-granddaughter Avery’s laundry. Only a month before her death, she tried to convince Michael that he needed to teach her how she could operate a John Deere X350 lawn tractor so she could cut the grass. She simply would not accept her role as an elderly woman who should be sitting in a chair and watching television. She has spent almost a century helping everyone she has loved and she will always be remembered for the love she gave us.

Mary Evelyn "Sister" Devereaux

September 19, 1922 - April 14, 2022