Correction: Mary Worthen told the Arkansas Democrat in 1986 that she never regretted leaving college to get married. The newspaper’s name was misstated in this feature obituary about Worthen.
Mary Sandlin Fletcher Worthen will be remembered by family and friends as an active community member with a passion for history, music and cooking.
She died Monday at the age of 97 after a life of serving with numerous charitable organizations.
A fifth-generation Arkansan, Mary Worthen was born Oct. 6, 1917, to Mamie Sandlin and Tom Fletcher, and grew up in a house 6 miles outside Scott. Home-schooled until high school, Worthen filled her days with reading and playing the piano, said her son Bill Worthen, director of the Historic Arkansas Museum in Little Rock.
"She said she practiced six hours a day because she was lonely and there was nothing else to do," Bill Worthen said.
The practice turned into a passion. Son Tom Worthen said one of his favorite memories is sitting on the living room floor listening to his mother play Johann Sebastian Bach's Fugue in G minor.
After her husband, Booker Worthen, helped found the precursor to the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, she stayed active in the group, serving as the president of the Arkansas Orchestra Society Board, where she became a lifetime board member. She also worked to establish the Chamber Music Society, where she served as president.
Mary attended Little Rock Junior College before a brief stint at Vassar College in New York. She left college in 1937 to marry Booker Worthen, whose family founded Worthen Banking Corp. She told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in 1986 that she never regretted leaving college to get married.
The couple had three children, George Worthen, who died in 2013, Tom Worthen and Bill Worthen.
Bill Worthen said his mother was a dedicated lifelong learner. In her later years, even when she needed a large magnifying glass to assist her, Mary read the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the Arkansas Times, Time magazine, The New Yorker and the Smithsonian magazine.
Her affinity for reading and history led her to publish her own books, The History of Trinity: The Cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas, Little Rock, 1884-1995, which provided a historical record of the church she attended most of her life. She also wrote a pamphlet on medicinal herb lore called Frontier Pharmacy. She co-wrote a book of recipes and lore related to Mount Holly Cemetery, where she also assisted with compiling a burial index and served as a board member.
Mary's fascination and knowledge of herbs made for some delicious and interesting meals, including rosemary brownies and tomato tart, said Bill Worthen. "She found the most delicious way to cook a tomato," he said. "She loved trying new recipes -- especially on guests. She was a very creative cook."
She was an active member of the Herb Society of America and helped establish herb gardens at the Governor's Mansion and Historic Arkansas Museum. She also worked to raise money for an herb garden at the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C.
"The list of her involvements is almost endless," said Tom Worthen, a retired assistant professor of art history at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. "In spite of being a private person, she was engaged in all sorts of ways."
Mary Worthen was an active member of the Junior League of Little Rock for almost 80 years. She helped found the board of the Arkansas Supreme Court Historical Society and the board of the Arkansas Community Foundation. She received the UALR Shield of the Trojan Distinguished Alumni Award and was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters for her work in the community.
Bill Worthen said in her final years, his mother was disappointed that she couldn't give back more. When she wasn't volunteering, she was used to driving friends to church or baking bread to give away.
"She had a blessed spirit and was committed to giving back as much as she could," he said. "Her greatest frustration in life was having to, as she aged, give up the element of service in her life."
Metro on 06/17/2015