Mary Willard

All mamas are wonderful. When they die, they are, in essence, beatified by family and deservedly so. There is a reason for this: They put up with happiness and heartbreak — and seemingly have never-ending hope.

Mary Earick Willard, who died April 18, at age 95, made the All-Star team of mothers, not because she raised three sons and a daughter to respectable heights—which she certainly did—but because she cared for all humanity.

She took the measure of the banker man and the beggar man, treating equally not in accordance with their status, but with respect to her own moral compass which was true and pointed toward the horizon.

She was, above all, a lesson giver, and that has made all the difference to people close to her and those brush by acquaintances far and wide who were touched by her optimism, her gentleness and her character.

People reading this will inevitably point to the long life she led. That she did for sure, but this was not simply time committed in a vacuum. If that were the case, a life would be irrelevant, even frivolous.

Her life was, in fact, writ large, and the small type in an obituary in a local newspaper really consists of mundane bookends but doesn't tell the story. She packed a star-spangled journey into those nine and a half decades.

A depression era child from Richland, Ga., she was one of 10 children born of a young mother, Maybelle, who married at 15, and a father, Alvin Earick, who was a veteran of the Spanish American War of 1898. She outlived all of her siblings.

Like many of the times, the Earick children got by sharing shoes, dresses and homemade toys. Listening to our mom talk, they never had much to complain about because everyone was in the same boat.
She never was a complainer.

Through providence, she met and married a young Army-Airman, Herald Glen Willard. From the time she met, until the day he died way too young of a heart attack 44 years ago, she was the love of his life. This never ended, even after his death. She called him simply "Willard".

In fact, in the days before she died in a Melbourne assisted living facility, his picture was always near her bedside, and his name was often on her lips in conversation.

Together, they raised 4 children: H. Glen Willard, Jr. (deceased), J. Michael (Olga), Joy (Mark Williford); and Alan (Donna). They leave behind 11 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Everyone in our family has their special remembrances of our mother. In my mind, there is kaleidoscope of vignettes, some happy, some ironic, some mystical and others just darn funny.

This was a woman who well into her 70s tooled around a lake on a jet ski, someone who, again when most are retired, loaded up her car and drove south to Miami to help people devastated by Hurricane Andrew.

We were not surprised to learn that a few years ago as a practical nurse she had taken an on-call position helping AIDS patients that many other nurses would not go near.

At her assisted living facility, she was Mrs. Popularity. She had a kind word for all, and an offer to help, no matter the situation.

She was, a woman in full. No, she was more than that. She fulfilled everyone around her.

Graveside services will be held on April 29th at noon at Chapel Hill Cemetery, Orlando. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Brevard Neighborhood Development Coalition at 1151 Masterson St., Melbourne, FL 32934 or the charity of your choice.