GRAYSON, Mrs. Mary Porter Facen a resident of Montgomery, AL entered into eternal rest Tuesday, August 11, 2009. Funeral services will be held Monday, August 17, 2009 at 12:00 Noon from Dexter Ave. Baptist Church with Rev. Michael Thurman, officiating. Interment will follow in Greenwood Serenity Gardens with Ross-Clayton Funeral Home, Inc., directing. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Beta Nu Omega Chapter will have an Ivey Beyond the Wall Ceremony Sunday, August 16, 2009 at Ross-Clayton Funeral Home Chapel from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. An educator in Montgomery Public Schools for thirty-two years, Mary taught at Carver Elementary School, Daisy Lawrence Elementary School, Billingslea Elementary School, Carver High School and Lanier High School. From 1977 until her retirement in 1991, she was Supervisor of Music Instruction. She was preceded in death by Louis, her husband of 31 years; her parents, her brothers, Ernest Facen and Robert L. Facen and sisters, Mattie E. Burns and Annie Jo Bowman. She leaves to cherish her memories her son Louis James (Tessie) Grayson III, one sister, Julia Sherrod (Saginaw, Ml), one brother, Dr.Harold (Karen) Facen, Silver Spring, MD. a sister-in-law, Lorene Facen, St. Louis, MO, a brother-in-law, Lee Earl (Cassie) Grayson, Atlanta, GA, three granddaughters, Janelle, Kierra, Jymelle and one grandson, Louis IV, and numerous nieces, nephews and friends.
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Funeral Home: ROSS-CLAYTON
Publication Date: 08/16/2009
In Memory Of Our Poets
Mrs. Mary Porter Facen Grayson (Choral Music Director 1970s)
Sharon Marie Olive (Williams) (1976)
Mrs. Grayson was by far, my favorite teacher @ Lanier. She devoted time, effort, energy, & love to her students. I am proud to have been mentored by this talented, wonderful woman who was born before her time. She was a very, very positive influence in my life & I'll never forget how devoted she was to what she did best-teaching.
Beverly Hughes (1974)
Mrs. Grayson had only to walk in a room to light it up. I will never forget her smile, her energy, her fairness, her enthusiasm and her kindness. She was my biggest supporter in high school and she was disappointed when I decided not to pursue music - and pursued the Marines instead! She was just a jewel of a woman - there will never be another one like her. She did not see children of different colors - she saw children of different talents. I will never forget our choir competitions and road trips, that look she'd give the choir when we were being too rowdy. The tears in her eyes when we were performing well. The hugs. The long talks after class. And her confidence in me - and I'm sure in every student that she loved. Every teacher should strive to emulate Mrs. Grayson. The world would be a better place.