Mary Ellen Remlinger

Mary Ellen departed for Heaven, Sunday, August 15th, 2010.  She was 79 years old.  Her suffering has ended and now there is great rejoicing in heaven celebrating her arrival.  She’s in the arms of Jesus.Funeral mass will be at 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, August 18 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church with Fr. Ken Keller officiating.  Burial will follow at Llano Cemetery.Mary was born September 27, 1930 in Wichita, KS. to Harry Nathaniel and Flora Mae Clarke and was the youngest of seven children. She grew up in Amarillo and attended St. Mary’s Academy for 12 years.She married in 1953 and had 3 children. She worked in the medical field for 25 years and retired in 1989.  Later in life, she married John Remlinger. They were happily married for 22 years, until his death in 2005.  For the last 27 years, she was an active member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church where she and John often volunteered.  Mary was a devout Catholic and loved Jesus.Her greatest love was her 3 children. As a single mother in the 1960’s she devoted herself to their care and well being and in great Catholic tradition, she sacrificed so much to make sure she provided for her kids. She was mom-to-all and had a hand in raising many of the neighborhood kids… they all called her the “cool” mom.  She cared for the neighborhood kids like they were her own and more times than not, invited them to lunch and dinner on a regular basis.  Her car was appropriately dubbed, “mom’s taxi”.Mary had a wonderful positive outlook and a fantastic sense of humor. She was blessed with many difficulties in her life but chose in those times to trust in God and believe that His grace would sustain her. Because of her faith, she always knew everything would work out fine, and it always did. After John’s death, her health began to decline. Although Alzheimer’s robbed her of the last three years of her life, she kept her sense of humor and her faith in God. Mary is a great example of one person’s life making a real difference.Survivors include her three children, Tony Naples and his fiancé Farley Gray of Amarillo, Mike Naples and wife Joanne of Granbury TX, and Carole Brunton and husband Steve of Euless TX., three grandchildren, Jennifer Howard, Steven Brunton, and Mallory Naples, two great grandchildren, with one on the way, a sister, Josephine Bottoms of Ft. Worth, and many nieces and nephews.The family wishes to thank the doctors, nurses, and staff, especially on “4 East” at NWTH for the care provided when mom broke her hip in July and to BSA Hospice for the care and compassion they provided to the end of mom’s life.To the wonderful folks and our friends at Ware Memorial, especially in “The Village” the love you showed our mother and the care you provided was truly amazing.  We love each and every one of you and may God bless you. You are all true Angels on earth and your commitment to caring for and loving our mother will never be forgotten.The family will greet guests at the funeral home from 6-8:00 p.m., Tuesday, August 17.The family suggests memorials to The Alzheimer’s Association, 415 SW 8th Avenue, Amarillo, TX 79101.

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