Mary Ann Olive

Mary Ann Olive, 89, went to her eternal home Sunday, January 20, 2013 at the Good Life, where she had been a resident and cared for lovingly for almost five years. Visitation will be from 1-3pm, Wednesday, January 23 at Denton-Wood Funeral Home. Funeral services are scheduled for Thursday, January 24 at 10am at Denton-Wood Funeral Home Chapel with Kevin Pence officiating. Interment will follow in Sunset Gardens Memorial Park, Carlsbad. Mary Ann Olive was born to James William Brown and Bertha Edna (Childress) Brown on February 19, 1923 on a farm in Silver Valley, Texas. She was an only child but had a very large and loving extended family. She graduated from Novice High School at the age of sixteen, went on to Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, and received Bachelors and Masters Degrees from North Texas State University in Denton, Texas. After serving as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Women's Air Corp, Mary Ann taught school in Texas and then moved to Carlsbad in the early fifties to teach elementary school. She went on to teach Home Economics at Carlsbad High School and later at Mid-High School. On December 19, 1957, she married Harold Olive, a local attorney, and they were married until his death in 1977. Mary Ann will be remembered as fearless, feisty, and a woman of deep and abiding faith. She survived many tragedies and hardships in her life but always said that "with faith all things are possible". A licensed airplane pilot, she became lost over the plains of West Texas, was running low on fuel, and landed her single-engine plane on a two-lane highway outside of Marfa, Texas. She later said she was not afraid, because "God is my co-pilot". A member of First Baptist Church of Carlsbad for almost sixty years, Mary Ann was a Sunday school teacher and attended loyally. Along with her faith in God, her greatest source of joy was the love of her family and many friends. Her daughters, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and many students are the beneficiaries of her wise words of advice and life lessons that will never be forgotten. "Nana" thought being an only child was lonely, and was so happy to be blessed with a large and loving family. She is survived by daughters Jayann Sepich and Judy Wyrick; sons-in-law Dave Sepich and Fred Wyrick, all of Carlsbad; grandchildren Jeff Wyatt of Ft. Worth, Texas; David Wyrick of Waco, Texas; Allison Hanway and husband Jeremiah of Carlsbad; AJ Sepich of Denver, Colorado; Dusty Wyatt of Carlsbad, Kimmie Wyatt of Carlsbad and Caraline Sepich, of Tempe, Arizona; along with great-grandchildren Skyler, Sydney and Logan Hanway and Jayden and Lexi James, all of Carlsbad. Mary Ann was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Harold N. Olive in 1977 and her granddaughter, Katie Sepich in 2003. Pallbearers will be Jeff Wyatt, David Wyrick, Dusty Wyatt, AJ Sepich, Caraline Sepich and Jeremiah Hanway. Memorial contributions may be made to the Katie Sepich Memorial Scholarship Fund at the Carlsbad Foundation, 114 S. Canyon. Condolences may be expressed at dentonwood.com