Mary Wills Hollingsworth Hatfield, age 98, a long-time resident of Florence, AL, died on November 26, 2015. The funeral service will be Tuesday, December 1, 2015, 11:00 AM, at First Presbyterian Church of Florence, with visitation at the church at 9:30 AM. Burial will be at Florence Cemetery.
For the past three years, she resided at St. Martin''s-in-the-Pines, Birmingham. She was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. John Dempsey Hatfield, a daughter, Kemper Hatfield Graham, parents, Rev. Dr. and Mrs. David Wills Hollingsworth, brothers, David Wills Hollingsworth, Jr., and Charles Noyes Hollingsworth.
She is survived by daughters, Elizabeth Hatfield Baddley (Charles), Mary Wills Hatfield LeCroy (Tom), a son, John Harrison Hatfield (Jo), seven grandchildren, seventeen great grandchildren, and two great, great grandchildren.
After graduating from Coffee High School and Agnes Scott College, she worked at TVA, and there met her husband. In addition to her duties as homemaker, wife, and mother, she was, first, a math teacher at Sheffield High School and later taught kindergarten at the First Presbyterian Church (Florence).
A life-long member of First Presbyterian, where her father was the pastor and her mother organist and choir director, she was devoted to the church. She sang in the choir, directed the children''s choir, participated in or taught Bible studies, and served as elder. Civic minded, she served with The Muscle Shoals District Service League as a young woman. She was one of the first women to serve on a jury in Lauderdale County. In the days when the Florence Herald published "The Spillway," she was the anonymous writer of this social column for many years.
She and her husband were members of Turtle Point Yacht and Country Club, where they played bridge and golf. They enjoyed travel and made trips to Europe and other interesting destinations, especially in their early retirement years. They also traveled and participated in events with the Alabama Sixties Plus Golfers and the Dinner-Dance Club of Florence.
In lieu of flowers, please consider memorials to First Presbyterian Church of Florence, 224 E. Mobile St., Florence, AL 35630.