Mary Louise Maleby

Mary Louise Wilkerson Maleby, 85, of Shreveport, Louisiana, formerly of Mount Vernon, Indiana passed away on Friday, August 29, 2021. Born December 21, 1935 in Jennings County, Mary was the daughter of the late Carl Bortz and Lela Catherine (Gooding) Wilkerson. Funeral services for Mary will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, September 3, 2021 at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, 2500 Southside Dr., Shreveport, Louisiana. A visitation will be held on Friday from 1:00 p.m. until the service time. Officiating the service will be Pastor Austin Eakin. Mary was a 1953 graduate of North Vernon High School. She worked at AT&T until she retired. She enjoyed sewing and worshiping at her church. Mary grew up on a farm in rural Indiana during the great depression. "Mom" or "Mamaw" was one of a kind, and she would make you laugh without even trying. Mary demonstrated compassion for others despite facing hardships of her own. Mary taught her children to be strong and resilient. She was a food connoisseur who loved Kentucky Fried Chicken, White Castle, chicken enchiladas, chicken spaghetti, lemon bundt cake and seven-up cake. Mary was well known for the cards she would write to her daughters, grandchildren and even her physicians. One Christmas, she gave each grandchild a card and hand wrote "you are my favorite" in each card. Mary would just randomly sing (mostly hymns), and she loved selfies. Chantilly was her favorite scent. Survivors include her daughters, Rose (Dennis) Chrustic of Sagamore Hills, Ohio, Angela (Kelvin) Allen, Shreveport, LA, Amy (Dan) Stewart-Krohn; brother, Marvin (Sandy) Wilkerson of Scipio; Indiana; sisters, Bonnie (Leonard) Meek of North Vernon, Indiana, and Francis Galyen of Hartsville, Indiana; grandchildren, Aaron Allen of Mankato, Minnesota, Breanna Allen, Mankato, Minnesota, Kevin Stewart Jr., Shreveport, Louisiana, and Alex Chrustic, Emily Chrustic, both of Sagamore Hills, Ohio. Honoring Mary as pallbearers will be Kelvin Allen, Aaron Allen, Daniel Krohn, Kevin Stewart, Dakota Gryder and Logan Gryder. Serving as honorary pallbearers will be Robert Fair, Dennis Chrustic and Alex Chrustic. Mary was preceded in death by her parents; sons, and siblings, Valera Decker, Dorothy Elslager, and Nellie, Alvin, Bob, Harold, Carl, John and Donald Wilkerson. Mr. Robert Fair was Mary's best friend and the perfect example of Christian stewardship. Robert never hesitated to help run to the store or pharmacy and assisted Mary to many medical appointments. The family wishes to thank Dr. Jonathan Davis, Dr. Robert Hernandez and Laura Perkins, NP, for their excellent care over the past several years. And a special thank-you to the firefighters at station 17 for their kindness while answering her calls day or night.