Mary Allerton Thomson

Mary Allerton Woolsey Thomson, 89, of Little Rock passed away on Sunday, July 18, 2010. She was born in Galesburg, Illinois to Robert and Inez Woolsey. She was preceded in death by her husband, Ben G. Thomson. Mary is the mother of three sons, Chris, Charles, and James Thomson, plus twp grandchildren Isaac and Andrea. She was a graduate of Shrimer Junior College in Mt. Carroll and Knox College in Galesburg. After moving to Little Rock with her family in 1961 from the St. Louis area Mary became a member of the Women's Emergency Committee a primary social justice force in Little Rock. She volunteered as a Cub Scout den mother, leader in Girl Scouts, and with the elderly at Presbyterian Village. Mary was community activist and very involved in the Natural State. She was one of the only women members of the Wild River Commission, helping to establish the Buffalo National River. She was the League of Women Voter's Environmental Quality Committee Chairperson, and in that capacity attended monthly meetings of the Arkansas Pollution Control Commission. Mary helped organize public hearings into the Clean Air and Pure Water Acts. She was later named to the Arkansas Energy Forum. Mary worked on public policy issues with the AR Public Service Comm., Transit Policy Board, MetroPlan and broke ground for community recycling. She was a member and the Social Responsibility Chairperson at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Little Rock. She was a member of the Interfaith Hunger Task-force. Mary's efforts in working with local and state networks of soup kitchens and food pantries helped to establish the Arkansas Food Bank Network. She coordinated regular meals for the shelter and work training center Our House in Little Rock. Mary was know as the "Pea Patch Lady" raising money to plant public plots of peas and greens near College Station for the public to harvest. She worked with Pulaski County to establish a community gardens on the old penal farm. Mary help organize local hunger hikes, Soup Sunday's, and World Food Day observances. She volunteered as a reading tutor in the Arkansas State Penitentiaries. Before the American's with Disabilities Act was passed the AR Secretary of State's office called her and asked her to visual inspect polling places for accessibility problems, her recommendations would lead to early accessibility criteria, parking, ramps, doorways, bathrooms, etc. She volunteered for Care Links delivering Meals on Wheels. She joined VIPs, enlisting the Unitarian Universalist Church in the LRPS Partners in Education at Garland Elementary School. She also supported the Joseph Pfeifer Kiwanis Camp. Mary was a Daughter of the American Revolution, a member of the Kiwanis Club of Pulaski Heights, and League of Women Voters of Pulaski County. Friends and Relatives are invited to attend a Memorial Service on Sunday, July 25, 2010 at 2 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Little Rock, 1818 Reservoir Rd., Little Rock. Donations can be made in her memory to The Unitarian Universalist Church of Little Rock, Arkansas Foodbank Network, Joseph Pfeifer Kiwanis Camp, the Arkansas Hospice Foundation, or a charity of your choosing.