Mrs. Mary Mays Justice

Funeral services for Mrs. Mary Mays Justice, 100, of Henderson, will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, December 21, 2020, at Crawford-A. Crim Funeral Home Chapel with Dr. David Higgs and Rev. Don Edmiston officiating. Interment will follow under the direction of Crawford-A. Crim Funeral Home. Visitation will be one hour before the service. Mary Mays Justice went to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on Thursday, December 17, 2020 – just a few weeks after celebrating her 100th birthday. Mary was born on November 30, 1920 in New Salem, Texas to Vernon B. and Ethel McMillien Mays. She graduated from Henderson High School in 1938. Mary loved to tell stories of growing up in New Salem with her 4 younger siblings, Billy, Dutch, Rebecca, and Ann. For 100 years, she never let there be any doubt who was the oldest child. After high school, Mary attended Lon Morris College and then went to work for GTE Telephone Company in Henderson. In 1942, she moved to Arkansas to work for War Assets. The move to Arkansas proved to be a good one. In 1944, Mary met Ralph Justice at a prayer meeting at Emanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock. They were married on November 16, 1946. They settled in Pine Bluff, Arkansas in 1950, where they would live and Mary would work for the State of Arkansas for the next 29 years. Mary and Ralph were faithful members of “First Church” Pine Bluff – evidently the word “Baptist” was unnecessary. After 33 wonderful years, the Lord took Ralph home. Ever the servant, Mary moved back to Henderson to care for “Mama Mays” in 1980 and never left. Mary loved her Lord, “First Church” (Pine Bluff and Henderson), her family, and her friends. Her spirit, memory, and occasional finger-waggle were legendary. Mary never had children of her own, but that didn’t stop her from having a profound influence in the lives of her nieces and nephews. Mary was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Ralph E. Justice; her brother, James W. (“Billy”) Mays; her sisters: Bennie Ruth (“Dutch”) Monzingo, Rebecca Byrd Risinger, and Ann Mays Hollingsworth. Survivors include: Mary Fullen (David), Arthur Monzingo (Christine), Cheryl Monzingo Adams (Tommy), Vernon Monzingo, James W. Mays, Jr. (Susan), Kay Mays, and Karen Ytterberg (Alan), and a host of great nieces and nephews, family and friends. Thanks to the staff at Brookdale-Henderson for their loving care these last few years. Words of comfort may be shared with the family at www.crawfordacrim.com.

Mrs. Mary Mays Justice

November 30, 1920 - December 17, 2020