Mary Jane Talbert McArthur passed away March 8, 2023, in Charleston, SC, after a long illness. The Funeral Mass will be Tuesday, March 14, 2023, at 2:00 P.M. at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Oxford, MS. Visitation will be held prior to the service beginning at 1:00 P.M. at the church. Burial will follow in Oxford Memorial Cemetery.
Mary was born on January 16, 1955, to Frances (Selzer) and Samuel Stubbs Talbert in Oxford, Mississippi where she grew up. She had many fun adventures living on Van Buren Avenue and remained close with her childhood friends. She became a superb ICU nurse as an adult and later a residential developer. She traveled the country, living many years in Minnesota and spending much time in the western North Carolina mountains, enjoying white water canoeing and mountain biking. There she met her husband, Stephen McArthur. They moved about the South primarily, spending years living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Charleston, South Carolina. She was a fun loving, sweet person with a wonderful sense of humor. She had an incredible gift for color, art, and antiques and loved painting, nurturing rescue animals, reading the Bible, running marathons, and cultivating camellias, roses and other colorful flowering plants. Mary loved her family and cherished being an aunt and godmother to nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her grandparents and parents.
Mary is survived by her husband of almost 30 years, Steve; siblings, Mike (Jane) Talbert, Genie (Randy) LeBlanc, Suzanne Talbert, Elizabeth Croisdale, Pat (Bill) McCarthy, and Gingi (Bill) Hickey; 14 nieces and nephews; and a large extended family.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Mary’s memory may be made to Pet Helper’s Adoption Center, 1447 Folly Road, Charleston, SC 29412, or to The Frances Selzer Talbert Trust at The Catholic Foundation, P.O. Box 23004, Jackson, MS 39225-3004, which funds a memorial garden established in memory of Mary’s mother.
Visitation
Tuesday, March 14, 2023 1:00PM – 2:00PM
St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church
406 University Avenue
Oxford, MS 38655
Service
Tuesday, March 14, 2023 2:00PM – 12:00AM
St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church
406 University Avenue
Oxford, MS 38655
What precious memories with Mary Jane and all the Talberts spending late nights gathered around the wooden kitchen table talking about everything dear in this life. Mary Jane often provided a cool rational perspective always with that special smile slowly lighting up her eyes. She and Gingy couldn’t always find the patience to hang with us old fogies of 14 15 or 16 years old!!! So after she added her two cents she was off. How I cherish those times with the Talberts. I know that the family will miss Mary Jane and I wish them all my love during this time.
I only recently found out that Mary Jane had died. Although we had not kept in touch for many years, she was one of my closest friends in high school, through and for years after college. I attended her wedding. I have such wonderful memories of sitting around that huge kitchen table, smoking cigarettes, drinking coffee and gossiping, or solving the problems of the world. Or lounging in the sunroom talking about our dreams and, of course, boys. Mary was indeed a very gifted, loving person whom I still love even after all these years apart. She touched many lives, and we all are richer for that. Thank you, Mary, for sharing your gift of life.