Mary Elizabeth DuBose Colvin was born in Elba, Alabama on January 29, 1925. She died on July 22, 2018. She is survived by her daughter, Karen Jane Colvin, and a grandson, Chance McClaran of Lubbock, Texas. She is also survived by her brother Fred DuBose of Houston, and very dear to her, nieces Rochelle Bishop of Houston and Janice Zingale of St. James, New York, and nephew Arthur Garcia. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 58 years, Bill Colvin, from Kenedy, Texas, her son, Billy Clayton Colvin of Abilene,Texas, her mother, Madye Frances Owen DuBose, her father, Hansford Arthur DuBose, her sister, Winnie Dell Garcia of Houston, her brother Perry Gene DuBose of Charlotte, North Carolina, her brother Hansford Arthur DuBose of Cedar Park, Texas, and her brother Francis Dubose of San Francisco.
Mary's family moved to Houston when she was five years old and there is where she spent her young life. She was reared in a Christian home with loving, devoted parents and four brothers and one sister.

When Mary was a senior in high school her Daddy became seriously ill with tuberculosis and he and her mother were sent away to a sanitarium in another city. Mary was devastated! She was not mature enough and had no skills to support and take care of herself, and there was no money from any source. She went to live with her sister who was married at that time. She soon obtained a job as a receptionist in a doctor's office and began attending night school to complete her high school graduation. While completing her required courses she decided to take Gregg shorthand and further her typing skills. She wanted so much to be a secretary. She graduated from Jefferson Davis High School in Houston and attended the University of Texas in Austin for a short time.
Mary spent a number of years in the business world. The very first job was as a delivery girl who moved inter-office memos from desk to desk in the executive offices of a large corporation in downtown Houston. She met the requirements for this job of having poise, manners, and being pretty and petite, but because of her ambition and clerical skills she soon became the secretary to the manager of a department of the company. Then she moved into a rooming house and was finally able to care for herself on her own. Mary was very conscientious and efficient in everything she did and this gave her the opportunity to obtain future positions as secretary to the Personnel Manager and then two executives of another large corporation in the next few years.

In 1949, while she was a secretary for Anderson, Clayton & Company (a cotton merchandising firm) in Houston she met Bill Colvin who was also an employee. They were married on March 12, 1950 in the First Methodist Church in Houston.

Her husband's business moved them to West Texas where she spent over 25 years of her adult life. Mary continued her secretarial work in Stamford, Texas (a small town north of Abilene) where she was a legal secretary. She also renewed her interest in her church, especially in the Women's Society of Christian Service. She was a delegate and speaker at the organization's state-wide convention which was held in the beautiful Pope Street Methodist Church in Amarillo in 1955. Mary also sang in the church choir and was a member of the choral group in the Stamford Music Club.

After eight years of marriage Mary and Bill longed for a family and realizing that they could not have children, they adopted an infant boy in 1957 and in 1959 an infant girl. Mary has said many times that these were the happiest memories of her life and she felt such a deep sense of love and gratitude for these two lives. She devoted her life to the nurture and care of her family.

In 1960 the family moved to Abilene where they built a home, and Mary continued to be a mother as she taught Bible School in the summer and continued to sing in her church choir. She was also a Cub Scout Den Mother. When the children were in school, Mary decided to re-enter the business world and became a secretary in the Abilene Public School Administrative Offices. From there she became the secretary to the Principal of the new Cooper High School which was located near their home.

In 1970 Bill was transferred to Lubbock, Texas and with the kids busy in school and Bill on the road traveling often, she decided to become a real estate agent. She enjoyed people and found a new interest which she pursued with vigor. She bought and refurbished four pieces of property (doing some of the work herself) and it was a sense of joy to her to work diligently to improve and make something better. And with every move to a new location she would see that the family found a home which she cared for so well. Mary also loved flowers and gardening and spent many times of her life working at this hobby.

Having grown up in Houston, Mary never did get used to the flat, windy, and dusty climate in west Texas. Bill promised her he'd take her back someday. So, with the children grown and away from home and Bill ready to retire they moved to Horseshoe Bay, a beautiful resort area on Lake LBJ in the Texas Hill Country. In 1980 they built a home in the golf course area. Mary loved boating on the lake and golf. She had not played golf before and pursued this new hobby with vigor, learning to play well. She had a cute sense of humor and had fun playing golf with the both women and men and especially in ladies' tournaments. She was among those who organized the Horseshoe Bay Women's Golf Association and was it's first secretary. This period of her life was filled with much joy and happiness as she and Bill "played and traveled" and developed many friends for a wonderful life!

Mary was a charter member of The Church At Horseshoe Bay and she did some volunteer work in the church office for awhile.

In the years that followed Mary cared for Bill as he experienced several serious health problems, and with aging upon them, and her failing health they, decided to sell their home of 20 years and move to a new gated community in Fredericksburg, Texas. They enjoyed their new home and the lovely community as well as the easy lifestyle in this delightful city. They were very happy there in their twilight years. On March 12, 2000 they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

Bill passed away on February 2008, and Mary's life was changed forever as she struggled to live alone. She moved to The Woodlands to be near her favorite brother, Fred, and her wonderful niece, Rochelle, in Houston.
Mary Elizabeth DuBose Colvin will be remembered by her family and friends because she cared for others. She loved her brothers and sister very much. Her true and abiding love for her husband, Bill,and their children, Billy and Karen, was apparent throughout her entire life. And the love and respect she had for her parents who taught her the moral values which she lived by was evidenced by her life. But above all else -- as a young girl she gave her life to CHRIST and was baptized, and for all the days of her life she kept a strong faith in GOD and lived a Christian life.