Mary Ione Isom Presson

Mary Ione Isom Presson, age 92, departed this life on February 15, 2021. She passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by love. The daughter of the late Byrd Bryant Isom and Lillie Louvenia Paysinger Isom, Mary was born in the new local hospital in Corinth, MS, on July 25, 1928. Her father passed away suddenly when she was only 20 months of age, leaving her mother with eight children to raise during the depression. Times were tough, but with hard work and their trust in God, the family was able to remain together.

Mary graduated from Corinth High School in 1946, and the Baptist Hospital School of Nursing in Memphis in 1951. While living in Memphis, Mary met the love of her life, Everett Presson of Mansfield, TN, a pharmacy student at the University of Tennessee, and they were married within the year. Mary worked as a Registered Nurse at the Kennedy (Veteran’s) Hospital in Memphis prior to the birth of the couple’s first child, Angela, and then she put her efforts into being a homemaker and mother to Angela and the other children that followed.

In 1960, Mary and Everett moved to Ripley, TN, where Everett had the opportunity to buy a partnership in the pharmacy that later became Presson-Carden Pharmacy. After all of her children were in school, Mary resumed her nursing career at the local hospital in Ripley, working first part-time on the 11- 7 shift. She then served as the Hospital Supervisor on the 3-11 shift, a position she held for over 20 years. Here she touched the lives of so many people in the community by providing care and comfort whether through emergency room visits, the birth of babies, illnesses, or the passing of loved ones.

Mary possessed the gift of finding joy in the simple pleasures of life. She enjoyed movies, singing, picnics, outings to carnivals, amusement parks and zoos, and she truly loved snow, whether she was enjoying sledding, building snow men, having snowball fights, or making snow cream. Even after her children were grown and no longer at home, when it snowed Mary would take her sled to Alpine Street, which was what she considered the best sledding hill in Ripley, where she would sled with the neighborhood children.

Mary loved all animals and she adopted many stray cats and dogs over the years. Her last cat, Sweetie, was a constant companion for close to 20 years. Mary loved spending time with her family, especially her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, and was proud of their achievements.

After retirement, Mary enjoyed traveling with her husband and together they found pleasure in delivering “Meals on Wheels” to seniors in the community. Mary was a long time member of the Ripley Church of Christ, where she taught the third and fourth grade Sunday school class for many years, as well as Vacation Bible School.

Mary will forever be remembered for her enduring joyful spirit, her constant smile, her sparking blue eyes, and her kind and loving heart.

Left behind to cherish their memories of Mary are her beloved husband of 69 and 1/2 years, Everett Lee Presson, two daughters, Dr. Angela Presson (Dr. Casey Napora,) of Chesapeake, VA, and Patricia (Dr. Michael) Carlson, of Nashville, TN; two sons, Ronald (Rosie) Presson, of Covington, TN, and Keith (Joan) Presson, of Athens, AL; seven grandchildren, Amanda (Brian) Billings, of Covington, TN, John Presson, of Collierville, TN, Ron (Morgan) Presson, Jr, of Covington, TN, David Carlson (fiancée Rachel Skaggs,) of Columbus, OH, Katharine Napora, of Athens, GA, Melissa Carlson, of Nashville, TN, and Brian Presson, of Athens, AL, and six great grandchildren, Stella Presson, Rhett Presson, Lila Billings, Kit Presson, Amelia Billings and Miriam Presson, as well as many beloved nieces and nephews.

In addition to her parents, Mary was preceded in death by infant daughter, Sandra Kay Presson; six brothers: Leon (Girneal) Isom, Clyde (Ruby) Isom, Burt (Mildred) Isom, Will (Mildred) Isom, Howard Isom, and Frank (JoAnn) Isom, as well as her twin sister, Martha (Robert E.) Lambert.

The family is forever grateful for the loving care given to Mary over the past several years by Paula Roach, Emily Roach, Connie Brown, April Quick, Angie Hyde, Mary Shaw, Pat Sanders, Rosemary Sanders, Brandi Roach, Lee Beard, Kacee Goforth, Samantha Kimmel, and others, as well as the care given by Extended Care Home Health throughout the past few years and by the staff of Amedisys Hospice of Bartlett over the past two months. The family is most appreciative of the attentive care given by the staff at the Lauderdale Community Hospital as well as by Dr. Syed Zaiti and Dr. Steven Behrman during the early months of 2020, and also the excellent care given by Dr. Thomas Rawlinson and Dr. David Lan over the past few years.

Due to the current pandemic, a private service will be held for immediate family only at the Memorial Funeral Home in Corinth, MS, on Saturday, February 27, at 11 A. M., and others may participate by watching the livestream at www.facebook/memorialcorinth/videos. Burial will follow in the Henry Cemetery in Corinth. Please join us in remembering Mary by visiting our memorial at www.memorialcorinth.com. Through this site, we invite you to share your thoughts and fond memories with our family. Suggestions for memorials include the Ripley Church of Christ, P. O. Box 464, Ripley, TN, 38063, the Lauderdale County Animal Shelter, 3265 Curve-Nankipoo Rd, Ripley, TN, 38063, or a charity of your choice.