Dr. Mary Elizabeth Whitcomb Wakefield was born on October 28, 1920 in Middlesboro, Kentucky and passed away peacefully at home on March 9, 2021 in Cypress, Texas surrounded by loved ones. She was the matriarch of the family – the keeper of the generations and the glue that held everyone together.

Mary, lovingly referred to as "Judy" (after Judy Garland) by her husband's family, was the middle child of Frederick Benjamin Whitcomb and Alice Louise Hoe. She met her husband, Clarence Dwite Wakefield, through her beloved sister-in-law, Catharine, in Fort Worth, Texas when she was studying for her Bachelor's degree at Texas Christian University. She and Dwite married in 1940 and had four children. His work took them to France where they lived for a brief time before moving back to Houston. The family relocated to Arizona so she could pursue her doctorate at Arizona State University. She graduated in 1968 with her doctorate in education. The Wakefield family settled in Huntsville, Texas following her graduation and moved their homestead to Bedias in 1973.

Education was a lifelong pursuit and a value that she instilled in her children and grandchildren, many of whom also hold graduate degrees. She taught and was headmistress at St. John's lower school in Houston, Texas and at Phoenix Country Day School in Phoenix, Arizona before accepting an appointment as professor of education at Sam Houston State University in 1968. She retired from Sam Houston in 1983 as the Department Head of Clinical Education. From there, she opened the Wakefield Clinic to serve children and families with learning disabilities and educational needs. She was instrumental in getting legislation passed in Texas to ensure that people with learning disabilities had access to education. She continued to tutor individuals who were studying for their GED and citizenship tests out of the Huntsville Public Library until she was 96.

Mary took comfort in knowing her Lord and Savior. She maintained her membership at Lakewood United Methodist Church from 1994-2021 and attended regularly as long as she could. She attended Shiro Methodist Church when she was in Bedias, Texas.

Her greatest joys were helping to raise three of her grandchildren, learning about all of her great-grandchildren, and hearing that another great- or great-great-grandchild was born. She loved going to church, reading every book she could get her hands on (often multiple books each day!), and singing every minute in between. She was a loving companion, a caretaker of many, and the definition of a strong, proud, autonomous, stubborn, and loving woman. May we all live as fully and love as deeply as she did.

She was predeceased by her parents, her husband, her son (Milton Clell Wakefield), her two sisters (Margaret Belle Hoe and Dr. Virginia Whitcomb Brumbach), Catharine Jane Wakefield, her granddaughter Margaret Wakefield, and countless friends and colleagues. She is survived by three of her children: Dwite Whitcomb Wakefield, Dr. Mary Wakefield Oswald, and Frederick Barrett & Norma Wakefield; nine of her grandchildren: Gordon & Tracey Wakefield, Wendy & Fred Salazar, Cindy & Gary Ward, Barbara & Jason Anz, Valery Wakefield, Darby & Steven Grimmett, Dr. Kendall Wakefield, Whitcomb & Patrick Terpening, and Chelsea Castillo; 23 great-grandchildren; 13 great-great-grandchildren; her nieces Margaret Ann & Randall Bowling and Dr. Mary Alice Brumbach; and three additional generations of nieces and nephews.