Life Reflections
Mary Lucile Newsom, the fourth of eight children, was gifted to the world on Friday, April 5 1940, to Malachi (Mel) Newsom and Frankie Alberta Cooper Newsom in Senatobia, Mississippi. Born into a family of faith, Mary Lucile expressed her hope and belief in Jesus Christ at an early age and matured in the gospel at Thyatira Church of Christ (Senatobia, Mississippi) where her family has worshiped for many years. An avid reader with a genuine passion for education, she quickly excelled at Senatobia (MS) High School. Mary showed her commitment as a lifelong learner and was accepted to Mississippi Industrial College, an HBCU affectionately known as “M.I.”, in Holly Springs, Mississippi on a full scholarship. During her time at M.I., she had the honor of doing her work study in the President’s office under Dr. E. E. Rankin, Jr. and earned distinction as a member of the college’s gospel and concert choirs. Her remarkable versatility included the talents she displayed on the basketball court where she later met the love of her life, Joe Gentry, Jr. After a few Summer courtships, their inseparable love led them to the holy and happy bonds of matrimony on June 28, 1961. The partnership and friendship of these adoring newlyweds could be clearly seen in the grace, dignity, and balance they displayed early in their marriage as they raised their family while both majoring in Elementary Education. The year 1962 proved to be pivotal as Mary Gentry graduated from her beloved M.I. on August 7, 1962, and began her teaching career with Arkansas Public Schools while her resilient husband integrated the school workforce in Memphis that same year. Committed to education, she went back to graduate school at Trevecca Nazarene College in 1990 receiving a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction and The University of Memphis with a Plus 45 in 1991. She loved her students as her own and they loved her back to the extent that countless former students remained in contact with her through adulthood. Everyone who knew her regarded her as one of the best Kindergarten teachers ever! She didn’t mind sharing that parents would “ASK for their children to be in my class.” If you had ever met one of Mary’s students, they would talk about her
passion for literacy and integrated cooking lessons (somehow food always went along with teaching). After teaching with Arkansas Public Schools, she worked over 25 years in Shelby County Schools, teaching at Collierville Elementary and finally retiring the first time at Germantown Elementary School. However, soon after retiring, the teaching bug bit Mary again, leading her out of retirement and back into the classroom to teach at Horn Lake Intermediate School for seven years before deciding to retire one last time. For Mary, retirement took on a new form of service with her volunteering on the board at the Levi Library. She also enjoyed time with her Mitchell Road neighbors, who were more like sister-friends, gardening and sewing with Ms. Betty, cooking with Ms. Beverly, and sharing teaching strategies with Ms. Geraline. In her spare time she loved sharing her famous spaghetti and pound cakes, reading any and everything, watching Wheel of Fortune and Family Feud, attending weekly hair salon appointments with her sister, Met, and taking road trips with her beloved Joe to family reunions, vacations and to see their grands & great-grands. Joe and Lucile were committed to the work of the church for over fifty years as members of South Parkway East Church of Christ, and pioneer members of West Shelby Drive Church of Christ, which later moved and became Boulevard Church of Christ where she continued to serve faithfully as a Sunday School Teacher. In 2021, she was honored with the Boulevard Lifetime Achievement Award and during the awards ceremony, her family announced the establishment of the Joe & Mary Gentry Scholarship Fund (which is now the Joe & Mary Gentry Memorial Scholarship Fund) to be given to a Boulevard student furthering their education. Mary was an educator by trade, but to her, being a mom was her most important job. One of her goals was for her children to be reading before kindergarten and she was successful all five times. With her love Joe, they had five children: Anthony “Tony” Gentry, Jerri J. Gentry, Sheryl (Stacey) Grant, LaTasha (Keith) Gentry Holmes and Marlon (Sherhunda) Gentry, who all cherished her deeply. Along with her children, she leaves to honor her memory the ones who call her “Grandma”, Edwin, Veronica “Nikki”, Justin, A’Star, Aramis, Mark, Keirsten, Joshua and Jonathan. She also leaves to remember her, her “sweet great-grands”, Jaylah, Kylan, Karon, Laila, Cornell, Zy’riah, and Creed; her sister, Armetar “Met” N. Smith, and brother, Byron Newsom, a host of nieces, nephews, students and her church family. Mary gained her wings on Wednesday, January 5, 2022. She was preceded in death by her loving husband of 45 years, Joe Gentry, Jr, her parents Malachi and Frankie Cooper Newsom and 5 of her siblings: Marvin “Boo” Newsom, Joe Huell Newsom, Horris Newsom, Bernice “Ma” Martin & Rubystein “Babe” Wooten.
Celebration ofLife
Procession. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Family of Mary L. Newsom Gentry Opening Prayer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DonBurnell Holly Host Minister, Norris Road Church of Christ Old Testament Scripture Readings by Her Grandsons Psalm 23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Edwin Gentry Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Justin Flake Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .“It Is Well With My Soul”. . . . . . . . . . . . .Sherman Ford New Testament Scripture Readings by Her Grandsons 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mark Gentry 2 Timothy 4:6-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Aramis Gentry Mary the School Leader, Cousin, Neighbor and Bible School Teacher Lois W. Williams, Shelby County Schools, Retired Associate Superintendent Michelle McDonald, Neighbor Janell Hankerson, Teaching Colleague Winford Gean Cooper, First Cousin Dr. Carol Johnson-Dean,Former Supt.,Memphis, Boston & Minneapolis Schools James Q. Bacchus, Elder, Minister of Education, Boulevard Church of Christ Olu Shabazz (video tribute), Minister, Harlem Church of Christ, New York, NY Selection. . . . . . . . . .”Everybody Will Be Happy Over There“. . . . . . . Robert Davis, III The “Grands” Tribute. . . . . . . . . . .“I Was Here”. . . . . . . . . A’Star Flake, Granddaughter Reading of the Obituary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .“I Can Tell the World” (Momma’s Favorite College Choral Song, Cantamos, Atlanta Georgia)
Proclamations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Veronica (Nikki) Flowers, Granddaughter Jaylah Catlin, Great-granddaughter Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wendy Warren, Niece Selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .”Mansion Robe & Crown”. . . . . . . . . . . .Robert Davis, III Eulogy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William Michael Jackson Minister, Boulevard Church of Christ Closing Prayer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stacey W. Grant Recessional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The Family of Mary L. Newsom Gentry “Hold to God’s Unchanging Hand” (Sherman Ford)
Together Again Joe & Mary Gentry
Acknowledgment
We wish to acknowledge and thank you with deep appreciation for your prayers, thoughtfulness, expressions of sympathy, and every act of kindness to us. Special thanks to the Boulevard Church of Christ Family and Norris Road Church of Christ Family, and to her loving caregivers: Tangela Brandon, Felecia Merriweather, Gwen Mitchell and Yolander Rodgers. You are family to us. Thank you for your support, your comforting words, the companionship you gave to our beloved Mary Lucile and for being there for us, and with us. ~ The Family of Mary Lucile Newsom Gentry ~
Robert Blackmon Andrew Martin
Anthony W. Gentry Joshua A. Grant
Active Pallbearers
Tuboris Martin Jason Smith
Tony Gross Larry Martin
Corey Newsom Ricky Wooten
Honorary Pallbearers
Edwin A. Gentry Keith V. Holmes
Marlon L. Gentry Jonathan A. Grant Montrel Walker
Interment
Memorial Park South Woods - Chapel Hill, next to her beloved Joe 5485 Hacks Cross Road s Memphis, Tennessee 38125
Arrangements Entrusted To
Rodgers Funeral Home 1102 Hwy 51 North s Coldwater, Mississippi 38618 s (662) 622-5608 To donate to the Joe & Mary Gentry Memorial Scholarship Fund, please use the giving portal at https://onrealm.org/boulevardcoc/-/form/give/now. Thanks!