Mary Ann Tarby Obituary

Mary Ann Tarby was born on January 20, 1948, at home in Columbus, GA to
parents John Allen Davidson and Bertha Louise Hart.
Mary had a sister, Helen Chickering, two brothers, John Allen Davidson III,
also known as Bubby, and Frankie Lee Davidson, and eight half brothers and
sisters.

She met her husband Michael Tarby Jr., at Fort Benning, GA in 1962 and
married on November 2, 1963, in the courthouse of Phenix City, AL. Mary, a
Baptist, and Michael, a Russian Orthodox, did not know until years later how
often God had guided them.

Mary was a 20-year veteran’s wife, and without question was entitled to all
the awards her husband received. She endured challenge after challenge
during her 20-year tour as a military spouse and overcame obstacles alone
with their two children. She was supportive of Michael throughout multiple
tours, including two years in Vietnam, one year in Korea, and numerous
prolonged field exercises - all of which totaled to nine years of being apart.
Through the military, the two also experienced living in Germany, Japan, and
numerous places in the United States. These adventures were filled with
many memories for Michael and Mary.

Mary endured many hardships, especially October 28, 1965, after losing her
first child, Ann Christine, at birth. Her Angel rests in peace at Mount Olivet
Cemetery in Queens, New York. Mary and her husband became blessed
when John Michael was born on February 6, 1967 and again with the birth of
Adam Vincent on February 9, 1972. Those blessings continued when Adam
married Stacy and gave them three precious grandchildren: Layne, Lindsey,
and Luke. The relationship she had with her grandchildren flourished over
the years and every goodbye ended with Mary telling them, “LOVE YOU
MORE THAN THE UNIVERSE.”

Mary worked in real estate for seven months while living in Austin, TX. She
was not only good, she was exceptionally good. She became the top real
estate salesperson for three months in Austin. With real estate taking time
away from home, she left her job and became a Homemaker. John and Adam
were top priority and her lifeline forever. No two boys could make her
prouder. She became the boys’ number one soccer fan, adding inspiration to
the entire team - yelling and cheering. In addition, she was passionate about
her crafts, whether it was the boys’ birthday parties or holiday decorations.
They were always elaborate. Mary’s decorations had that special touch of
making everyone feel welcome into their home. Then there was her
magnificent Southern cooking, including Russian and Ukrainian dishes.
Neighbors would drop in with the excuse of tasting the food and making sure
it was okay. Cooking was unquestionably her joy.

Mary had another special ingredient that God blessed her with, which was
that of a caregiver. She became caregiver to six family members: two
mothers, Anna and Bertha; her brother, Bubby; her sister, Helen; Mike’s
Aunt, Sophie; and her stepfather, Elmer. Mary cared for both Bubby and
Sophie while they stayed in the master bedroom where they gracefully
departed. When visiting family members in nursing homes, she would also
visit other patients who had no family. During the holidays, she would
decorate their rooms and ensure facility staff were aware of any special
needs.

Church was always her foundation as God blessed Mary with faith, love,
strength, kindness, respectfulness, and putting others before herself.

In January 2023, Mary was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She fought
with all her strength during chemo and radiation. Although the medications
helped to a degree, her best medicine was when the ladies from Crossroads
Church and the ladies in the neighborhood spent precious time with her.
During their visits, Mary’s spirits were lifted with little to no thought of the
issues before her. After they left, she would talk and smile for hours and
disclose “secrets” of their talks – their love of shopping.

And so, her time has come to go Home. On September 14, 2023, God lit the
path to Heaven for her.

Our family will miss her terribly.

Please stay and have a bite to eat from Mary's favorite Chef.