Mary Marcho Thompson

Obituary: Mary Marcho Thompson, of Concord, 94, died December 27, 2012 at Tucker Hospice House of complications from pneumonia. Born October 5, 1918 to the late Ruth Fryling Marcho and Edward Mansfield Marcho, she attended Sacred Heart Academy, Belmont, NC, and local schools, graduating Winecoff HS in 1934. Following graduation from Brevard College she earned a Registered Nurse certificate from Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami. World War II found Mary stationed at Fort Bragg, serving 4 years, 6 months and 3 days as first lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps. Post-war, Mary's adventurous nature led to the west coast and a position as plant nurse at the Hanford Plutonium Site, WA, one of the nation's first nuclear reactors. The GI Bill allowed her to attend UNC-Chapel Hill where she earned a BS in Public Health Nursing. While at Chapel Hill, she married fellow veteran Walter A. Thompson. They became the parents of two daughters, with Walter's career in the aerospace industry taking the family to Georgia and Florida. Mary's career included private duty, hospital nursing, and public health department service in Orange and Mecklenburg counties. Retirement and widowhood found Mary joining her lifelong friend, the late Mary Snead Boger, to establish the Old Courthouse Theater. Unable to sew a lick, she nonetheless served as costume mistress for forty-four plays over ten years. For her service to the arts, she was awarded a key to the city of Concord and a proclamation of "Mary Thompson Day." A lifelong member of Central UMC and the Estaline Clark Circle, Mary continued her vocation by visiting the sick and homebound, and delivering Meals on Wheels for ten years. Mary will be remembered for her boundless enthusiasm for life's adventures, her passion for books and learning, and her tender heart. She was predeceased by her beloved brother, Milton Marcho. She is survived by her children, Ruth and Ed Hopper, of Concord, and Jane and Bill Hester, of Greensboro. Grandchildren are Thomas Hopper of Amherst, MA, and Mary Jeanne Hester of Greensboro, and her niece Mary Elizabeth Marcho of Scottsdale, AZ. Family will receive friends Saturday, January 5, 2013 from 2:00 to 3:30 in the Coltrane Memorial Room at Central United Methodist Church, Concord, NC. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to: The Humane Society of Concord and Greater Cabarrus County, PO Box 5347, Concord, NC 28027, or The Salvation Army of Cabarrus County, 216 Patterson Avenue, Concord, NC 28025.
Visitation: 2:00 - 3:30 PM Saturday, January 5, 2013 Coltrane Memorial Room Central United Methodist Church Concord, NC

Service: ---------------------------

Interment: ---------------------------