Mary Boone Quesnel 

Funeral services for Mary Boone Quesnel will be held at 3 p.m. Wednesday at the First Presbyterian Church in Athens with Dr. William Watson and Dr. C. William NcNatt officiating. 

Burial will be in the Athens City Cemetery under the direction of Carroll-Lehr Funeral Home. 

Mrs. Quesnel died Sunday evening, Nov. 1, 1998, after a short illness. 

The proud daughter of early Athens parents Samuel Bingham and Jennie Doty Boone, she was born in Athens on August 26, 1903 and will live forever in the hearts of those who have had the privilege of knowing her. When her mother died, she entrusted Mary, the oldest daughter, to nurture her two younger sisters, Misses Annie and Jennie Boone, well known Athens teachers. This she did, faithfully caring for them during their declining years. 

Mary received her early education in Athens and her higher education at Athens Normal School, Millsap College, and North Texas University. At age seventeen she began teaching at Ash School, after which she taught in Athens Elementary School. During a seven year teaching career in Jackson, Mississippi, she met and married Edgar G. Quesnel with whom she shared thirty-two happy hears. Both in St. Louis and Scarsdale, N.Y., where they made their homes, Mary served her church and made many good friends, as was her way. She was devoted to her husband and was a constant helpmate and companion in his extensive travels for the Borden Company throughout the United States and Europe. After Mr. Quesnel died, Mary moved back to Athens in 1968 and became the guiding force in the home of the beloved "Boone Girls." 

A bright, energetic and thoughtful person, Mary's main focus throughout her life has been her family and church. As a committed member of the Presbyterian Church from childhood, Mary served in multiple roles, beginning as pianist and organist at the age of fourteen. She was a valued and trusted member, whose judgment was impeccable, and was a prodigious worker who gave of herself in Scarsdale by heading eighteen circles, as president of Presbyterian Women, a member of Presbytery Board, and was the second woman chosen to serve as elder. 

She also served seven years as president of the Thrift Shop Board in White Plains, a major project of the womens work in the Scarsdale Church. 

In Athens, she has served as elder and a member of a Presbytery Committee, in numerous offices of PW, and in 1971 was a commissioner to General Assembly. During her lifetime of serving her church she taught by example, generosity and participation in whatever was before her. Because of her nurturing and infectious enthusiasm, she was instrumental in bringing many into the church. 

This same gift gave her a talent with the next love of her life; meeting and making friends. She was an advocate for civic responsibility and her extensive community involvement included being active in Listeners Club, Literary Club, Retired Teachers and the Community Concert Series. She was especially interested in young people and reached out to them with a helping hand, sympathetic ear, advice, and an encouraging word. 

Mary was loved for her wit and spunky personality and her love of life, living everyday to the fullest. There was always a place in her heart and in her home for everyone. 

A joyous celebration honoring Mary's 95th birthday was held at her church in August. It was a fun-filled tribute and she treasured the outpouring of love shown her. 

To cherish her memory, she leaves a granddaughter Margaret Quesnel Baldwin, great-grandchildren Leslie and Stephen Cook all of St. Louis, MO; cousins Jerry and Leo Lee, Star Harbor, Malakoff, TX; and Tennie Scott, Abilene, TX. She was so deeply loved by her great-grandchildrens' father and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Cook of Oxford, N.J. Hers was a life of an unconditional love and this will be her irreplaceable gift to each of them. Her unique and vivid spirit will also be missed by a legion of loving friends who Mary inspired to always focus on the positive aspects of their lives and she leaves them a legacy of love and unselfish caring. 

Pallbearers will be Tommy Downing, Dick Dwelle, Herbert Gatlin, Steve Grant, Emmett Lawhon, Ken Lemmon, Willy Robson, and Joe Ed Smith. 

Honorary pallbearers will be James Cain, Thomas Geddie, Arthur Hall, Charles Sanders, and Dr. Robert W. Strain. 

Friends will be received at the funeral home from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday. 

Memorials may be made to the First Presbyterian Church in Athens at P.O. Box 927 or a charity of choice.