A celebration service honoring the life of Mary Josephine (Hince) Airheart will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, May 1, 2018 in the chapel of Autry’s Carroll-Lehr Funeral Home in Athens, Texas with Larry Wisdom officiating. Interment will be in the Trinidad City Cemetery following the service.
Her family will receive friends at Autry’s Carroll-Lehr from 10:00 am until service time on Tuesday.
Mary crossed the finish line of her race, was set free and took her first breath of the air in Heaven on Friday, April 27, 2018 following a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Here on Earth, she was born on November 23, 1934 in Cayuga, Texas as the first of three daughters of James Joseph and Treva (Hudnall) Hince. A May 1954 graduate of Cayuga High School, she was employed in various capacities over her lifetime, but none of those jobs compared to what she considered her greatest opportunity for success: being a Wife, a Mom, and a Grandmother.
Those who knew her best and loved her most will testify: Mary never met a stranger, always had something good to eat for a guest, was a loyal-to-a-fault friend and loved her children and grandchildren with total abandon. She wore a beautiful smile and had an infectious laugh. She was part of a passing generation who knew and modeled an untiring work ethic as well as a selflessness in service to others. Even until her last moments in this life, she was considering the well-being of those who surrounded her during her final leg of the race. She loved well and served well with grace and a stubborn humility that truly earned her the words from Jesus her Savior, “Well done.” Although the dear joy of her presence will be missed, today she is more alive than she has ever been and is seeing and experiencing the magnificent perfection and grace about which we who are left behind to honor her can only speculate.
Mary was preceded in death by her husband of 39 years, Edward “Pete” Airheart, her older brother James Hince, younger sister Ella Jane Johnson, and step-son Ted Airheart. She is survived by a daughter, Debbie (& William) Lopez of Ennis, TX; sons Eddie (& Kelli) Airheart of Fort Worth, TX and Stephen (& Julie) Airheart of Corinth, TX; step-daughters Marsha Airheart of Athens, TX and Terri Ellis of Canton, TX; 14 grandchildren, numerous great-grandchildren and several great-great-grandchildren.
Serving as her pallbearers are Charles Colman, Jr., Mike Colman, Daniel Colman, Hunter Airheart, Matt Hermann and Davey Hanna. Her honorary pallbearer is Christian Airheart.