1922
Mary
2005
Mary Sample Finley Temple
May 15, 1922 — December 31, 2005
Mary Finley Temple
TUPELO - Mary Sample Finley Temple, 83, of Tupelo, died Saturday, Dec. 31, 2005, at Beverly Healthcare in Southaven, Miss. She was born May 15, 1922, in Tupelo, the seventh and last child of Henry and Minnie Sample. She grew up on a farm outside of town and graduated from Tupelo High School in 1940. She married Rueben Jones Finley of Pontotoc on July 27, 1940, and had two children, Jane and William (Bill). In 1947, Jones Finley joined the Air Force and served almost 25 years before retiring in 1972. Through innumerable relocations and service-connected separations based on two wars and service around the world, "Mom" was the glue that held the Finley family together. Upon retirement from the Air Force, Jones Finley established a second career teaching at Collierville High School in Collierville, Tenn., until his death on Aug. 11, 1979. Upon her husband's death, Mary Sample Finley moved back to Tupelo and embarked on a new life as a fraternity housemother with the Pi Kappa Alpha House at Ole Miss.
On Dec. 17, 1984, Mary Sample Finley married Davis Littleton Temple of Tupelo. Upon his untimely death in 1987, she returned to Ole Miss as a fraternity housemother and later served for many years as the beloved housemother of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority at the University of Alabama.
Working with young people until she was in her eighties, she touched many lives with her kindness and consideration and influenced others with her unfailing sense of responsibility and her inspiring work ethic.
Services will be at 10 a.m. today at White Zion Presbyterian Church. Burial will be in the White Zion Cemetery. W. E. Pegues Funeral Directors is in charge of the arrangements.
She is survived by her two children, Jane Elizabeth Finley Witt of Walls, Miss., and William Henry Finley of Collierville, Tenn.; five grandchildren, Amy Elizabeth Witt Hill, Williams Andrew Witt, Laura Ann Finley, Patrick McVay Finley and Sarah Kate Finley; one great-granddaughter, Kathrine Elizabeth Hill; and many nephews and nieces, including Wilma Williams Chisholm of Tupelo.
Her family and friends will always remember her generosity, her kindness and her unending love.
Pallbearers will be Andrew Witt, Patrick Finley, Vic Chisholm, Paul McCullough, Jimmy Jackson and John Woods Sample.
TUPELO - Mary Sample Finley Temple, 83, of Tupelo, died Saturday, Dec. 31, 2005, at Beverly Healthcare in Southaven, Miss. She was born May 15, 1922, in Tupelo, the seventh and last child of Henry and Minnie Sample. She grew up on a farm outside of town and graduated from Tupelo High School in 1940. She married Rueben Jones Finley of Pontotoc on July 27, 1940, and had two children, Jane and William (Bill). In 1947, Jones Finley joined the Air Force and served almost 25 years before retiring in 1972. Through innumerable relocations and service-connected separations based on two wars and service around the world, "Mom" was the glue that held the Finley family together. Upon retirement from the Air Force, Jones Finley established a second career teaching at Collierville High School in Collierville, Tenn., until his death on Aug. 11, 1979. Upon her husband's death, Mary Sample Finley moved back to Tupelo and embarked on a new life as a fraternity housemother with the Pi Kappa Alpha House at Ole Miss.
On Dec. 17, 1984, Mary Sample Finley married Davis Littleton Temple of Tupelo. Upon his untimely death in 1987, she returned to Ole Miss as a fraternity housemother and later served for many years as the beloved housemother of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority at the University of Alabama.
Working with young people until she was in her eighties, she touched many lives with her kindness and consideration and influenced others with her unfailing sense of responsibility and her inspiring work ethic.
Services will be at 10 a.m. today at White Zion Presbyterian Church. Burial will be in the White Zion Cemetery. W. E. Pegues Funeral Directors is in charge of the arrangements.
She is survived by her two children, Jane Elizabeth Finley Witt of Walls, Miss., and William Henry Finley of Collierville, Tenn.; five grandchildren, Amy Elizabeth Witt Hill, Williams Andrew Witt, Laura Ann Finley, Patrick McVay Finley and Sarah Kate Finley; one great-granddaughter, Kathrine Elizabeth Hill; and many nephews and nieces, including Wilma Williams Chisholm of Tupelo.
Her family and friends will always remember her generosity, her kindness and her unending love.
Pallbearers will be Andrew Witt, Patrick Finley, Vic Chisholm, Paul McCullough, Jimmy Jackson and John Woods Sample.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Mary Sample Finley Temple, please visit our flower store.
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