Mary Jo Adkins
Mary Jo Adkins, passed away peacefully on Saturday March 11, 2023 in Grand Prairie, Texas.
Graveside service: 11:00 a.m. Friday March 17, 2023 at Myrtle Cemetery in Ennis, Texas. Visitation: 5:00 to 6:30 p.m., Thursday March 16, 2023 in the chapel of Grand Prairie Funeral Home, 733 Dalworth Street, Grand Prairie, Texas 75050.
Mary Jo was born to Clayton M. and Grace Lee Brown on May 16, 1929 in Corsicana, Texas. She was raised at the family’s home in Ennis Texas, with her two older brothers, Thomas and Clayton, Jr. Sunday was her favorite day of the week, going to church with her grandmother in the mornings and making homemade ice cream with her father on the porch in the afternoons. In her later childhood, her father introduced her to Western movies and they attended movies every Friday night at the local theater. She attended Ennis High School, and after graduating she worked as a telephone operator in Ennis, a job she remembered fondly and enjoyed very much.
Mary Jo married John Bunyan Adkins (J.B.) on September 29, 1949. In 1952 their daughter, Phyllis Jean, was born and this was Mary Jo’s proudest moment in her life. The family moved around extensively due to J.B.’s line of work as a Logistics Engineer with Chance Vought Company (predecessor to Lockheed Martin). The family lived in Oxnard, California, Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, and most fondly Honolulu, Hawaii where they resided for over four years. While in Honolulu Mary Jo became close friends with the family’s landlord, Ruby and Walter Cheong and through her friendship with them she was invited to many consulate events and was able to meet the Governor of Hawaii and many foreign dignitaries.
The family eventually moved back to the mainland and settled in Grand Prairie. Mary Jo became very interested in dance and joined a local dance club, the Irving Heritage Tappers, where she met many wonderful friends and performed dance shows for various organizations such as nursing homes, senior citizens groups and women’s clubs throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and also in San Antonio, Corpus Christi and other locations.
Mary Jo was a devote Christian and member of First Baptist Church of Grand Prairie. She was a caring and wonderful person and gave much joy to all around her. She will be sorely missed by all.
Mary Jo was preceded in death by her husband, John, who died in 2010; and was also preceded in death by her daughter, Phyllis, who died in 2012.
In lieu of flowers the family requests memorials be sent to the Veterans Memorial Committee.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.grandprairiefh.com for the Adkins family.
