Mary Ellen Webster

Mary Ellen Webster, 81, a retired Campus Technology Manager for the Arlington ISD, passed peacefully in her home, with family members surrounding her, into the arms of her Lord and Savior on Saturday, March 28, 2026. Graveside service for Mary will be held at Restlawn Memorial Park in Sulphur Springs, Texas, at 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, April 1, 2026, with Reverend Blake Lander officiating.

Mary Webster was born May 17, 1944, in Mount Vernon, Washington, to her parents, William Lavern Wilson (a Pearl Harbor Survivor) and Wilma Mary Wilson. She was raised in San Antonio, Texas, and graduated from Robert E Lee High School in 1962. She also attended the First Baptist Church of San Antonio and trusted the Lord to be her own personal savior and was baptized at an early age. Mary obtained a college associate's degree and excelled at many jobs in her working career. Her best attributes were her organizational skills and ability to complete projects on time. She simply would not put off anything she could do today until tomorrow. Mary was a member of the First Baptist Church in Dallas and also a member of the Growing in Faith Sunday School Class. Mary will be remembered for her unbelievable courage to fight so many health battles, her boldness to speak the truth, and her great love for God and family.

Mary Webster is survived by her loving husband of 37 years, David P. Webster; daughter, Tracie Lea Niles and her husband, Robby of Crossroads, Texas; Son, Chris Allen Wallace and his wife, Ronda of Hackett, Arkansas; Stepdaughter, Megan Webster Grisham and her husband, Alex of Burleson, Texas. Grandchildren: Joshua Dennis and his wife, Trinh of Mansfield, Texas; Chloe Wallace, Hudson Grisham, and Sterling Grisham. Great-grandchildren: Aiden, Skylar, and Levi Dennis. Other Survivors include two brothers and sisters-in-law: James Robert and Carolyn Wilson, William Lynn and Virginia Wilson.

She was preceded in death by her parents, William Lavern Wilson and Wilma Mary Wilson, also by an infant brother, William L. Wilson JR aka "Little Willie."

Some Things About Mary

Mary Webster was born on May 17, 1944, in Mount Vernon, Washington, and was raised in San Antonio, Texas. She describes herself as being shy and quiet in school. She says she was a wallflower. Her family laughs out loud at that description because, as an adult, she always had something to say and definitely was not ashamed of being herself. She tells another story about her childhood that is hard to believe. Apparently, after attending church, her parents went to find the family car in the parking lot, and it was not there. The end result of the story was that Mary had just decided on her own to drive the car home by herself. She wasn’t old enough to drive, nor had she had any lessons yet. We marvel that she actually made it home because, as an adult, she had no sense of direction. She could easily get lost in her own neighborhood.

Because her parents were educators, the family was able to take full summer vacations and spend a lot of time in the State of Washington, where her mother was from. Mary recounts those times very fondly as she remembers her grandparents, the orchard, playing by the creek, parades, and seeing her favorite Aunt Jeanette. She was so very proud of her grandfather, who had worked in the logging industry and talked about him walking on the logs as they transported them down the river.

The summer vacations brought on new adventures as Mary moved through her teenage years. Her dad became a seasonal park ranger at Yellowstone National Park. She was always proud of the fact that she was able to enjoy this great majestic place before it really became commercialized. She recalls working in the soda shop, making malts and serving ice cream to the few tourists who visited in those days. She also recalls seeing her first movie at a theater. It was Gone with the Wind. She has always considered that movie and the actress Vivian Leigh to be her favorite. Another fascination that was born out of being at Yellowstone was Mary’s love for bears. She has several stories to tell about bears, including her mother having an encounter with a mama bear, and her dad was responsible for relocating misbehaving bears. Her interest in bears continued into her adult life, with her watching countless documentaries and stories on that subject.

Mary has enjoyed several toy and miniature poodles as pets over the past 40 years. Currently, she has (2) loyal friends named Cody and Lexie. They have stuck to her side like glue in these recent hospice days. As much as she loves all of her red poodles, she will tell you that her favorite pet was named Herman. Herman was a runt-of-the-litter skunk that she acquired as a teenager. She and her dad deodorized it and made a pet out of it. She made it clothes, and it had a cute collar. Mary was so attached to Herman; it went everywhere she went. It was on one of those summer vacation trips that the family stopped for the night at a campground. During the night, Herman got away and found its way into the tent of a different family. Mary was in a panic the next morning as she looked for her lost Herman. She came across a family huddled around the picnic table, pointing at their tent. “There is a Skunk in the tent they whispered”. Mary laughed and went into the tent and retrieved her precious Herman. Unfortunately, there is a sad ending to the story of Herman. On the way back home to San Antonio, somehow at a rest stop, Herman got under the tire of the little one-wheel trailer that the family pulled during summer vacation. Mary was obviously crushed and still has fond memories anytime she sees or smells a skunk.

Mary had the ability to cook like all the old-timers. She loved it, and a lot of her favorite recipes were just in her head. She specialized in desserts; one of her favorites was German Chocolate Cake, and her spaghetti sauce was awesome. Nobody knows the exact formula she used. She could serve a hot Thanksgiving meal for 20 people at the table with no problem. There was never an issue of having too little food at an event, as she would always over-prepare. That was true for a lot of things in her life, including house decorations, clothing, hobbies, and gifts. Her Motto was Go Big or Go Home!

Yes, she was a compulsive spender and very competitive. You might see her in an auction bidding against herself, but no one would ever say Mary Webster is greedy. She was one of the most generous people you would ever know. Her language of love was giving gifts. She would give her last nickel to a stranger in need or just a fun gift to a friend; it did not matter.

Mary had a great love for crafting and making home decorations. In the last 15 years, she really specialized in holiday décor and wreaths for all different occasions. Her Daughter, Tracie, was able to attend many craft shows with her, and her creations were always well-received. She was so imaginative and original. She was not afraid to take chances with her artistic abilities.

Mary showed her decorative abilities in her professional life, also. She was a campus technology manager and used many spiritual themes throughout the computer lab. One such example was: she had the plan of salvation posted with scriptures right behind her desk. That could have been challenged in a public-school setting but it never was. It just an example of her boldness to share her faith.

Mary understood early in her life that salvation and a right relationship with God was not of any good work or denominational ritual but only trusting and putting her faith in what Jesus did for her on the cross. Like many of us, she has had some ups and downs in her spiritual walk throughout her life, but people around her always knew where she stood with her love for the Lord. She really developed a love and a great knowledge for biblical prophecy, and she understood Daniel, Revelation, and the Olivet discourse. Like many believers she had the hope that she could be caught-up in the rapture as described in 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-18

Her Faith has been the anchor for all of her physical and medical challenges. She simply never feared or had any anxiety about any medical procedure. In the last 25 years of her life, she endured the following surgeries:

1. Heart-- triple by-pass in 1999

2. Heart--Quad by-pass in 2016

3. (2) knee replacements

4. (1) shoulder replacement

5. (2) hip replacements

6. 15-20 heart stent procedures

7. (2) heart ablations

8. (1) cardio version

9. Trigeminal neuralgia surgery

10. (5) major back surgeries

Her final 170 days:

37 days in the hospital

50 days at a rehab facility

83 days at home in hospice care.

She has endured so much, and her family is so sad to see her pass from this physical life, but very much at peace that she is now out of pain and in the presence of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.