Mary Myrtle Medearis

Mary Myrtle Medearis, 97, of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., passed away peacefully of natural causes early Sunday morning, September 16, 2012, at Wesley Health Care Center. Mary's father was an Arkansas country doctor during the depression, and her mother was a piano teacher. Surrounded by music all her early life, she decided to attend Juilliard School of music in New York, where she graduated in 1937. She married Richard F. Reeves and lived first in Somerville, N.J., and then Gwynedd Valley, Pa. In 1941 she wrote a best-selling novel about her Arkansas days and her parents and family, titled Big Doc's Girl. She spent her life teaching piano, eventually moving to Boulder, Colo., and then to Washington, Ark. While there, she helped found the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives, serving as its Director for a number of years. She also spent several years as a "writer-in-residence" at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Ark., before retiring and moving to Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in 1996 to be near family. Mary was pre-deceased by her former husband, Richard F. Reeves, her sister, Melicent Kate Medearis, and her brother, Robert Anderson Medearis. She is survived by her sister, Ruth Louella Medearis Michnewicz of Denver,Colo.; sons Richard E. (Dorcas) Reeves of Huntsville, Ala., and Robert Anderson (Barbara) Reeves of Ballston Spa, N.Y.; daughters, Phoebe Elizabeth Wood of San Antonio, N.M., and Mary Jennifer (Mark) Allen of Kalispell, Mont. Also surviving are seven beloved nieces and nephews, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Mary will be remembered by her family and all those friends who knew her, for her unquenchable positive attitude towards life, and her ability to see the good in everything. At Mary's request her body is being donated for medical research at the Albany Medical Center; a memorial service will be arranged in the near future in her home state of Arkansas. The family is eternally grateful to all the wonderful care-givers at Wesley Health Care Center in Saratoga Springs: their warmth and human compassion are unequalled anywhere. Memorial contributions may be sent in Mary's name to: The Wesley Foundation, Wesley Health Care Center, 131 Lawrence St., Saratoga Springs, N.Y. 12866. Please indicate "memory of Mary Medearis" in the memo line.