Mary French

Well done, good and faithful servant: enter into the joy of your master. Matthew 25:21. Mary slipped away into the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at 3:52 a.m. Monday, Jan. 14, 2008, after a courageous battle with cancer. A resident of Baton Rouge for 50 years, she was born in Port Arthur, Texas, on Aug. 24, 1930, to Johnnie Harrell and Victoria Nora George. A graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School and Port Arthur College, Mary also earned a degree in commerce from Texas Christian University. Before her children were born, she served as a legal stenographer in the law firm of Breazeale, Sachse, Wilson and Hebert and later as the administrative assistant to the director of the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads in Louisiana. After her children were born, she left the business world and devoted herself to rearing them as a loving mother and to their children as a wonderful grandmother. In 1967, she organized and founded the Jefferson Baptist Kindergarten and Preschool and served as its director for 14 years. Her love for children and their early educational needs is evidenced daily in the lives of thousands of children who are now productive adults. Mary assisted her husband in the establishment of the Jefferson Baptist Church of Baton Rouge. She was an incredible pastor's wife, serving as Sunday school teacher, chancel choir member, wedding coordinator, counselor and anywhere she was needed in the service of the church. Visiting at Jefferson Baptist Church, 9135 Jefferson Highway, on Wednesday, Jan. 16, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Visiting resumes at the church on Thursday from 9 a.m. until service at 11 a.m., conducted by Dr. John Morgan of Sagemont Church, Houston, Dr. Dorothy Patterson of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas, and Dr. Charles Kelley, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Burial in Resthaven Gardens of Memory. Mary is survived by her husband of 56 years, the Rev. T.C. Tommy French Jr.; two daughters, Anne French Scroggs and husband Scott, and Carol French Garon and husband Danny; nine grandchildren, Stuart French Woodman, Thomas Russell Woodman, Katherine Victoria Grand, Katie Ree Garon, Chad Daniel Garon, Brandt Michael Garon and Kinsley Marie Scroggs, all of Baton Rouge, Jenae Whitehead, of Gonzales, and Bryan Scroggs, of Charleston Air Force Base; a sister, Beatrice Harrell Bryan, of Nederland, Texas; and a brother, Frank William Harrell and wife Sandra, of Newport News, Va. She was preceded in death by her parents, Johnnie Harrell, a Baptist deacon, and Victoria Nora St. Clair; and an infant son, Steven Harrell French. Memorial donations can be made to The Gideon's International for the distribution of Bibles or the Mary French Scholarship Fund for the education of pastors' wives. Pallbearers will be Mike Bloodworth, Mark Stewart, Toliver Bozeman III, Ronnie Bean, Jake Pierce, Roland Thompson and Scott Stewart. Honorary pallbearers are deacons of Jefferson Baptist Church. Special thanks to Dr. Deborah Abernathy, Dr. James Osterberger, Dr. Laura Cassidy, Dr. Renee Levine, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center and Hospice of Baton Rouge. Arrangements by Resthaven Funeral Home, 11817 Jefferson Highway.

Visitation

Jefferson Baptist Church
9135 Jefferson Highway
Baton Rouge, LA  70809
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
4pm 9pm

Service

Jefferson Baptist Church
9135 Jefferson Highway
Baton Rouge, LA  70809
Thursday, January 17, 2008
9am 11am

Jefferson Baptist Church
9135 Jefferson Highway
Baton Rouge, LA  70809
Thursday, January 17, 2008
11 am

Cemetery

Resthaven Gardens of Memory
11817 Jefferson Highway
Baton Rouge, LA  70816

Memorial Contributions

The Gideons International
P.O. Box 140800
Nashville, TN  37214

The Mary French Scholarship Fund
c/o Jefferson Baptist Church
Baton Rouge, LA  70809