Mary Snellgrove

OZARK…Mrs. Mary Slay Snellgrove, a resident of Ozark, died Saturday morning, June 18, 2022, in Dothan. She was 91.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 A.M. Wednesday, June 22, 2022, in the Fuqua Bankston Funeral Home Chapel with Reverend Greg Aman officiating. Burial will follow in Woodlawn Memory Gardens. The family will receive friends from 9:00 until 10:00 A.M. Wednesday at the funeral home.

Flowers will be accepted, or memorial contributions may be made to Mrs. Maxine’s Pantry, a ministry of the Ozark Baptist Church, 282 South Union Avenue, Ozark, AL 36360.

Mrs. Snellgrove, daughter of the late Marion Lonnie Slay and Mary Margaret “Lovie” McLendon Slay, was a native of Walton County, Florida. She was a graduate of Ponce de Leon High School. Mrs. Snellgrove owned and operated Midtown Laundry and Dry Cleaners in Ozark prior to retirement. In earlier years, she was employed as a seamstress in Geneva and the pajama mill in Ozark.

Mary was an accomplished seamstress who truly loved to sew school dresses, Easter dresses, and homecoming suits for her six girls. An exacting perfectionist in everything she did, there was never a dropped stitch or a crooked seam if she made it. Mary was a great cook and cooked enough food in any given week to feed a battalion and feed them well.

Mary loved trees with a keen appreciation for their beauty and diversity. Not a day passed in her later years when she did not recite from memory her favorite poem: TREES, by Joyce Kilmer. She's the only person we know who could recite the entire poem, and she did so up until the last two weeks of her life.

Mary was an honorary mother to the countless friends of her many children who were constantly in and out of the house. While she loved order and organization, she tolerated the chaos of a home filled with children. Even today there are numerous (now senior citizens) kids who call her Aunt Mary.

Mary's children feel the most blessed of all. We were all so lucky to have our mother as our guiding force and source of undying love. Her example set a standard for parenting that we all tried to live up to. One of Mother's most sincere gratitude’s was that she never had to endure the loss of any of her children or grandchildren She was a longtime member of the Ozark Baptist Church. Mrs. Snellgrove was preceded in death by her husband, Garrett Austin Snellgrove, Sr., all ten of her siblings, and Henrietta Howard, who helped raise her eight children.

Surviving relatives include her children, Austin Snellgrove (Janice), Gwen Ledford (Paul), Lynn Riley, Beverly Kennedy (Billy), Steve Snellgrove (Laurie), Patti Austin, and Sheila Busby (Tommy); a special niece, Sue Adams; ten grandchildren, fourteen great-grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren.

Serving as active pallbearers will be Todd McGarvey, Patrick Kennedy, Philip Kennedy, Shaun Canterbury, Austin Snellgrove, and Davis Snellgrove.

The family wishes to thank the extraordinary staff in the Memory Care unit at Terrace at Grove Park, in Dothan. Your many kindnesses, genuine affection for our mother, and your attentive care exceeded all expectations. We are forever in your debt for helping to make our mother's final few months so happy, even as her health declined. We will never forget you for all you did for her, and for all of us.