Mary Elizabeth McCoy (nee Bain), age 61, of Woodstock, Georgia passed away on Monday, January 11, 2021.
A 500 page book would not do justice to Mary’s life, much less an obituary. Respected by her peers, adored by her children and grandchildren, and loved by her friends, Mary had no enemies – except for the Best Buy technician who failed to fix her laptop after several delays.
Whether it was jumping into a chest-deep mud bog in the Santa Elena canyon of the Rio Grande river, rappelling the slot canyons of the northern Arizona mountains, or searching for geocaches all over the continental US, Mary had a zest for life. Given the choice between traveling the interstate or cruising the side roads, she willingly sacrificed speed for adventure. Roadside fruit stands, off-the-beaten path diners, and hole-in-the-wall burger joints were her preferred dining venues. On her refrigerator she kept a Calvin and Hobbes comic strip with the final line, “Let’s go exploring!”
Yet, Mary knew how to savor the small moments in life. She relished wrapping herself in a blanket and enjoying an early morning cup of coffee on her patio. She marveled at the blue birds that flocked to her bird feeder. She reflected quietly on the clouds that drifted by on a warm summer day.
Mary was a pillar of support at her church, Good Shepherd Lutheran. Over the years she served the congregation in innumerable and immeasurable ways. She served as congregation President, Council Treasurer, Green Team Coordinator, Youth Mission Trip chaperone, and general friend to all.
Mary was a passionate environmentalist, both large and small scale. She served on the ELCA Southeastern Synod Green team, formulating synod policy on environmental issues. She served as the Care for Creation coordinator at Good Shepherd Lutheran. She recycled voraciously, attempting to diminish her footprint on the world in the totality of her lifestyle.
Mary worked tirelessly for Verizon Wireless for 36 years, retiring in 2018. Starting her career as an entry level accountant, she eventually became a project manager overseeing the systems interface between users and their technical counterparts. Her avocational passion was geocaching. Discovering the hobby in 2016, she loved searching for geocaches, attending geocaching events, and describing her finds to her family.
Mary loved her family and friends fiercely. She leaves behind a devastated family and plethora of dear friends. She is survived by her husband of 34 years, Mike, her three children, Penny, Chuck, and Pete, and four grandchildren, McKenna, Ryan, Melanie, and Miranda; her brothers James, Joe, and Roger Bain; and a vast number of relatives, some of whom she established relationships with after finding them in her genealogy research. She is preceded in death by her brother Chuck and her parents Jim and Lorraine Bain, both of whom who were decorated WWII veterans.
In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to either the WASP WWII Museum or the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. The family asks that you hold your loved ones tight and tell them that you love them every day.
