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- Mary Lou Johnson Banner passed away at home with her daughter, Louise Banner tending to her every need with the assistance of home care hospice services provided by AMOREM at age 96 on April 14, 2023.
She remained active into her 90s driving her car up until she was 92 years old. Mary Lou continued to start every day studying her Bible lesson in the morning up until a few days before her passing.
Throughout her older years she was constantly active and appeared to be 10-15 years younger than her chronological age. Perhaps it was her straight back, good posture and determined attitude that added to her personality and appearance. Throughout her 80s she was always busy trying to get it all done, whether making five quarts of pulled butter mints in the morning, a recipe she had made for over 65 years, or assembling ingredients for her Mary Lou's Famous Homemade Fruitcakes. Louise Banner, her daughter, assisted her for many years making the family recipe of Mary Lou's grandmother Elizabeth Baird Hughes' family from the 1800s even selling the cakes online and now her daughter Louise continues the family business.
Mary Lou kept busy throughout the years with her plants from digging up bulbs to tenderly taking care of new and "old timey" flowers at her parent's, Jete and Louise Hughes Johnson's home in the Hughes community. During her 80s Mary Lou would sit at the upright piano and play those old soulful hymns. Mary Lou played music from memory, her fingers bent with age, instantly glided over worn piano keys and made that old piano talk at the home place. Although hard of hearing from years of working at the TRW factory outside of Newland for 15 years, Mary Lou could feel the music, it just seemed to flow out of her. In her younger years, Mary Lou was a self-taught hair stylist, she tended to the ladies throughout Avery County and some came as far as Bristol, Tenn.; Atlanta, Ga.; and Greensboro, NC.
Mary Lou was an avid bird watcher and feeder. If she did not have enough feeders, Mary Lou would concoct one out of an old glass soda bottle, nothing got past her. She was a child of the depression and made a penny go a long way. Mary Lou had a wonderful memory and could tell so many fascinating family stories from long ago. She was well known for her sense of humor and could go on for hours keeping people laughing. Up until the last week of her life she enjoyed watching all types of sports, she knew which teams were playing and who was favored to win. She had her favorite teams and enjoyed talking about them.
Relatives ready to welcome Mary Lou to her heavenly home included her grandparents, Marcus Brownlow and Elizabeth Baird Hughes; parents, Jete and Louise Hughes Johnson; sisters: Bernice Fowler, Nelle Wetmore; and brothers: Ralph (died in infancy), Bruce and Robert Johnson and many loving aunts, uncles, and cousins. Those left to share memories of Mary Lou include her daughter Louise and Mary Lou's first cousins: Peggy Anne Rice; Bruce's wife, Jean Johnson, Lib Greene, Tom (wife Carol) and Rock Hall; and numerous nieces, and nephews and other cousins.
Per Mary Lou's wishes there will not be a formal memorial service at this time. We were blessed to have her these 96 years and feel peace and joy that she has now passed away to go to her eternal home. Obituary written by her sister Bernice's daughter, Denise Baird Schwartz.
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Abt 1927 - 2023 (~ 96 years)
