Mary Reynolds Keith

Mary Reynolds Keith passed into the arms of her Lord and Savior on November 21, 2016. She was born in Wilmington, NC on January 29, 1930 and was the first child of Lawrence Houston Reynolds and Lila Chinnis Reynolds. Her parents, as well as her two younger sisters, Jaqueline and Lila, preceded her in death.

Ms. Keith's fondest childhood memories were of her many summers spent at the family cottage on Wrightsville Beach. As she was fond of telling, ""It took a trolley ride to get you to Wrightsville Beach back then."" Throughout her life, Ms. Keith loved the ocean, walking its sandy beaches and watching the pelicans that soared overhead. She passed this love on to her children and grandchildren who have wonderful memories of times together along the North Carolina coast.
After graduating from New Hanover High School in 1947, Ms. Keith attended Wake Forest College at the old campus. She graduated in 1951 with a degree in biology. During her time at Wake Forest, Ms. Keith met her future husband, Julian Keith. She married not long after graduation and moved to Winston-Salem where her husband was a student at Bowman Gray School of Medicine. She taught biology at Old Town School and had the first two of her six children over the course of Dr. Keith's time at the medical school.

After their initial time in Winston-Salem, Ms. Keith and Dr. Keith moved to Nevada and then Arizona where Dr. Keith worked as a physician during his time in the Army. Her third child was born during this time. About her time in Nevada and Arizona Ms. Keith often recounted tales of major snowfalls, hot temperatures and a rattle snake finding refuge in the nursery curled up beside the beds of her sleeping toddlers. After military service it was back to the eastern NC roots for both Dr. and Ms. Keith. She was blessed with her final three children while living in Clarkton of Bladen County, NC.

In 1967 Dr. and Ms. Keith returned to Winston-Salem, where she continued the life she treasured as a Mom and community volunteer. After a few years back in eastern NC in the late 1980s and early-mid 1990s, she returned to Winston-Salem in 1996. Her active life continued apace with her favorite activities being teaching Sunday school at Mount Tabor United Methodist Church, playing bridge, volunteering at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and attending Wake Forest basketball games. Whether teaching high school biology, serving as an adult Sunday school teacher, working as a volunteer including her many years at the Samaritan Soup Kitchen and Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center or cooking for, caring for and spending time with her family and many friends, Mary's passion to care for others was always a central focus of her life.

Ms. Keith is survived by all her children, Julian Keith III of Manteo; Russ Keith of Winston-Salem; Scott Keith of Winston-Salem; Ben Keith of Lake Whitley, Texas; Dave Keith of Caye Caulker, Belize; and Alice Moore of Charlotte, along with their spouses, and multiple grandchildren and great grandchildren. Her beautiful smile, the twinkle in her eye and her unconditional love and support will be missed by all.

A private interment will take place in the Memory Garden of Mount Tabor United Methodist Church on Saturday, December 3, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. for family only. An open memorial service to celebrate Ms. Keith's life will be held in the sanctuary of Mount Tabor United Methodist Church at 11:30 a.m. Following the conclusion of the memorial service, the family will host a reception to celebrate Ms. Keith and to greet friends in the Church's Family Life Center.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to: Mt Tabor United Methodist Church, 3543 Robinhood Road, Winston-Salem NC 27106; Samaritan Ministries, 414 Northwest Boulevard Winston-Salem, NC 27105; or other charity of your choice.

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