Obituaries

Mary Jane Joy Manning Scott

Photo of Mary Jane Joy Manning Scott
Mary Jane Joy Manning Scott was born on August 13, 1923 to Ruth Seaman Manning and Henry Grady Manning. She died peacefully at home in Austin, Texas on June 12, 2014. An only child, Joy enjoyed residing in her family home, The Marion Hotel in Little Rock, Ark. living like "Eloise" with her pet Pekingese and play house on the penthouse terrace. Educated as a young girl on many family travels abroad and at Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Conn., Joy developed an enchantment with the world outside of her beloved home state of Arkansas. Joy made her debut in Little Rock on December 6, 1941 then she and friends awoke to the news of the Pearl Harbor attack and all the boys were going to war! After marrying on August 3, 1945 to Morin Montagu Scott of Houston, Texas at Trinity Episcopal Church in Little Rock, the newlyweds moved to Austin, Texas. There she took the town by storm as Morin introduced his blond southern beauty to Texas. The Arkansas vs. Texas games in Austin found the Scott home to be a celebration party for all! Joy became a community and civic leader while raising two children and managing her family hotel and investment company. After the passing of her parents when Joy was in her 20's, Joy became President of Southwest Hotels, Inc. managing ten hotels in five southern cities-Little Rock, Hot Springs, Memphis, Kansas City and Vicksburg, Miss. For her flagship properties she contracted the famed Dorothy Draper Interiors of New York to renovate the hotels after the U.S. Government had operated them for rehabilitation of World War II veterans. Joy sparkled with her vibrant personality and movie star smile, even when discovering she had breast cancer followed by radiation and lung cancer. She continued her exciting life for almost seventy years as a cancer survivor. Nothing could halt her extensive travels near and far with family and friends. Joy and Morin will always be remembered as the beautiful couple entertaining friends in Austin, her hotels in Hot Springs at her famous spa weeks, and at their c. 1924 house on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs National Park, Ark. Joy was involved with the Junior League of Austin, the Austin Ballet Society, Austin Community Foundation, the Settlement Home for Children; also St. Andrew's Episcopal School and the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd. She served as a past director of Republic Bank Austin and past President, Director and Chairman of Southwest Hotels, Inc. Joy and Morin lived an exciting 55 years together. Joy and her family appreciate the decades of care from Joan Leach, Sylvia & Martin Copnall of Austin, Texas and Donna & Herb James of Hot Springs, Ark. Joy is survived by her daughter, Susan Scott Ross and her husband, Robert Ross of Houston, Texas and her son Monty Scott and his wife, Becky (Butler) and their children Morin Montagu Scott, III and Catherine Elizabeth Joy Scott of Little Rock, Ark. Services will be Saturday, June 14, 2014 at 11 a.m. at the Chapel of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd followed by a reception at Tarry House with final interment on Monday, June 16 at 10:30 a.m. at Mount Holly Memorial Cemetery, Little Rock, Ark. Memorials may be made to: The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, 3201 Windsor Road, Austin, Texas 78703, The Settlement Home for Children, 1600 Payton Gin Road, Austin, Texas 78758, Mount Holly Cemetery, P.O. Box 250118, Little Rock, Ark. 72225 or Garvan Woodland Gardens, P.O. Box 22240, Hot Springs, Ark. 71913. Services will be directed by Weed-Corley-Fish, 3125 North Lamar, Austin, TX 78705, 512/452-8811, www.wcfish.com.

Published June 14, 2014

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