Mertie Marie Parrish Adams, 1931-2021
Mertie Marie Parrish Adams left this earthly home on February 3, 2021 after living a very full life. Born in Lufkin, Texas on October 9,1931, Marie was the oldest of four girls and her baby sister, Kay, always said Marie was their daddy’s favorite. In fact, adults often loved Marie, and it was Ruth Adams who went out of her way to make sure that Marie and Roy stayed in contact after meeting at a friend’s wedding. Ruth Adams picked up Marie in her new car and drove straight to the filling station where Roy worked with his brother. It must have worked because Marie married Roy C. Adams in 1950 and together raised Becky Kay Adams Whiting (Joe Whiting) and David G. Adams (Debbie Havard Adams). During the oilfield boom of the 6o’s, Marie and Roy settled in Morgan City where Marie worked as a secretary in the oilfield industry.
In 1983, Roy and Marie embarked on a new path and moved back to their hometown of Liberty, Texas to open Roy’s Discount Tire and Auto with their son David. Marie had to learn a completely new line of secretarial work, and David tells about the time a customer called and asked her, “Do y’all grease rear ends?” To which Marie replied with an emphatic “Well!” and hung up on the prospective customer, much to Roy’s chagrin.
Marie’s granddaughters, Amy Whiting Deslattes, Beth Whiting Dupuy, Stacy Whiting Spitale, Kimberly Adams Helgrin, and Mandi Adams Stuart all fondly remember her. Marie’s time as a Mary Kay consultant provided her ample time for granddaughter sleepovers and facials as they were growing up. Nicknamed ReeRee by her great-grandchildren, and what she became known as by her larger church community, Marie was a faithful birthday card sender. Her family always knew a card would arrive right in time for their special day.
After Roy’s death, Marie moved back to Morgan City and has spent the last 20 years residing with Becky and Joe where she accumulated a large collection of hats, determined to initiate a fashion hat resurgence on her own.
A member of Eastern Star and the Ladies Auxiliary, Marie spent her later years giving back to her communities. As one of the hospital “pink ladies,” you could always find Marie sitting at the information desk, appeasing her own morbid curiosity of who was sick and who had died while she kept track of who was coming in and out.
Marie was preceded in death by her parents Hall and Estelle Parish, husband, Roy C. Adams, and sister, Betty Parrish Bienvenue. Marie is survived by two sisters, Kay Parrish Haar (Haslet, TX) and Ima Jean Parrish Hosang (Richardson, TX), her daughter Becky Adams Whiting (Morgan City, LA), her son David Adams (Morgan City, LA), five granddaughters, twelve great-grandchildren, and multiple nieces and nephews who have all been very supportive and caring of Marie in her final years.
Her family will celebrate her life at a graveside service in Liberty, Texas on February 9, 2021 at Cooke Cemetery. Arrangements are being handled by Allison Funeral Home in Liberty, Texas.