Rash's Surname Index
Notes for Mary Elizabeth BYE
MARY BYE WILLIAMS, 86, of Raleigh, died peacefully at Rex Hospital on Tuesday, September 28, 2004, after a brief illness. Mary was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great- grandmother, and friend whose enthusiasm for life and learning, strength of character, and grand sense of humor will be missed. Mary was predeceased by her first husband, Kenneth Alexander Kirby, to whom she was married for 14 years until his death in 1951, and by her second husband, Ralph Bulkeley Williams, to whom she was married for 30 years until his death in 1989.
Born October 10, 1917 in Fairfield County, South Carolina, Mary Elizabeth Bye was the beautiful daughter of Horatio Connell and Mary Evans Bye. Although a South Carolinian, Mary was proud of her father's northern heritage, too. Mary's great- great-grandfather, Dr. Charles Paxson Bye, was one of the early physicians of Pennsylvania, and around 1900 her grandfather and great-uncle George Connell, a former mayor of Philadelphia, extended the family's granite quarrying and stonecutting business into Winnsboro and Fairfield County, South Carolina, where her great- uncle owned hunting land, and where her father eventually met her mother, who was from Chester, South Carolina.
In the 1920s Mary's family moved to Charlotte. While living in Charlotte, Mary met Kenneth Alexander Kirby of Marion, North Carolina, a graduate of the pharmacy school at Chapel Hill and captain in the United States Army who had also served as executive secretary to Senator Cameron Morrison in Washington. Married on December 26, 1936 at Saint Peter's Episcopal Church in Charlotte, Mary and Kenneth made their home in Raleigh in January 1937. During part of World War II, from 1941 to 1943, Captain Kirby was recalled to military service, and they moved to Columbia, South Carolina, where he was stationed at Fort Jackson. Thereafter they returned with their two children to live happily in Raleigh, where Kenneth was a pharmacist and later general agent of Pilot Life Insurance Company. As a young mother, Mary was an active member of Raleigh's First Presbyterian Church, where she taught Sunday school, and she was a PTA leader at Hayes Barton School. On August 13, 1951, when Mary was just 33 years old, her beloved husband died unexpectedly at their home in Raleigh. Thereafter Mary served as Deputy Clerk of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Mary later met Ralph Bulkeley Williams of Warrenton, and they were married in 1958. Mary and Ralph shared many years of happiness in Raleigh until he predeceased her in 1989.
A resident of Raleigh for over 65 years, Mary was active in her community. Mary was a member of White Memorial Presbyterian Church. Mary was especially passionate about art, and she spent decades learning about art and art history at the North Carolina Museum of Art and through her travels abroad. Mary faithfully gave her time and knowledge to the interpretive program of the Museum's collections, and her leadership was instrumental in the development of the educational component of the Museum's docent program. A past president of the Museum's Docent Society, Mary loved to lead tours for the Museum's visitors and foster their understanding and appreciation of the Museum's collections. Mary continued to attend lectures and volunteer at the Museum in recent years as a Docent Emeritus. In addition to her involvement with the Museum, Mary served as a docent at the Executive Mansion and received visitors at the Legislative Building for years. Mary was also a member and officer of the Raleigh Fine Arts Society, which she enjoyed for over 30 years, and a member of Carolina Country Club, which she joined in 1954, and where she spent many delightful afternoons playing bridge with friends whom she adored.
Mary was predeceased by all her siblings, Theodore Woolens Bye, formerly of Raleigh; Anne Bye Doar and George Connell Bye, both formerly of Charlotte; and Joseph Caldwell Bye, formerly of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Mary is survived by her son, Kenneth Alexander Kirby, Jr., and his wife, Jill Bagwell Kirby of Raleigh; by her daughter, Mary Elizabeth Kirby Cella of Raleigh; by five grandchildren, two step-grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren; by the father of four of her grandchildren, Dr. John Robert Cella of Raleigh; sister-in-law, Hilda Bye of Charlotte; and by the mother of one of her grandchildren, Mrs. Catharine Lister Reinhardt of Mount Olive, all of whom loved Mary dearly.
A memorial service will be held at eleven o'clock on Saturday, October 2, 2004, at White Memorial Presbyterian Church, 1704 Oberlin Road, Raleigh. Mary's family will receive friends in the Jane Bell Gathering Space at the church immediately thereafter.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to White Memorial Presbyterian Church, 1704 Oberlin Road, Raleigh, NC 27608; to the North Carolina Museum of Art, 2110 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh, NC 27607; to the Raleigh Fine Arts Society, P.O. Box 10614, Raleigh, NC 27605; or to the Nursing Excellence Fund of Rex Hospital Foundation, 2500 Blue Ridge Road, Suite 325, Raleigh, NC 27607.
Arrangements by Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, Saint Mary's St. Raleigh.
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