This is a tribute to our wonderful, fun, and caring mother, Mary Ann Novy Lamkin. She was a loving wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, sister, aunt and great friend who passed away on May, 4, 2026 after a brief illness and hospitalization. She was 86 and would have turned 87 on May 17th. In her final days, she was able to visit, pray and reminisce with family and close friends. She was surrounded by support and love before and after leaving this world.

Mary Ann will be remembered for many things, but most notable are her long years of service to the community of Ennis and St John Catholic Church, her creativity and artistry, her ability to try new things, her love of nature, gardening and animals, her curious mind, and her ability to love genuinely and deeply.

Mary Ann was the third and youngest child of Charles J. and Ella Maresh Novy and was born in Ennis, Texas on May 17, 1939. She was a 1957 graduate of St. John Catholic High School and a 1961 graduate of Texas Women's University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Biology. Her first job out of college was working at the Wadley Blood Bank in Dallas Texas, where she collected blood samples and tested them for Rh Factor.

In January 1960, Mary Ann met the love of her life, Terry Lamkin, on a blind date and they married on June 30, 1961. They were blessed with two daughters, Jeannette and Laura. Sadly, Terry passed away in 2009 from Alzheimer's disease. Mary Ann gave him devoted full-time care for the years he suffered from his illness. His loss left a huge hole in her heart and life. She mourned his passing until the day she died. We know she has now been reunited with her husband in heaven, and her broken heart has now been healed.

Mary Ann was a chameleon during her lifetime. She was a homemaker. She taught chemistry and science at St. John's Catholic school for several years. She was also self-employed and very entrepreneurial. She owned and operated an antique shop and she managed and ran estate sales. She was extremely crafty and a talented artist designing and building many stained-glass windows around Ennis and the surrounding area. She was commissioned to create pieces for people's homes and designed and built the stained-glass windows in the St. John's Catholic church annex as well as the St. Jospeh's cemetery mausoleum. She created pieces to enjoy in her own homes and the legacy of her work and inspiration still lives on today. Mary Ann sewed, did fantastic needle work and enjoyed interior decorating. She was a good cook and loved to entertain her family and friends. She valued her family history and worked diligently on researching her family's ancestry to document the family tree and was generous in sharing this information with close and distant relatives.

Mary Ann was an active member of St. John's Catholic church and the choir as well as her community. She was member of the KJZT and the Catholic Daughters of the Americas. She was also a member of and held multiple offices on the Ennis Garden Club and the Ennis Heritage Society. She curated an exhibit of her mother's American Brilliant cut glass collection at the Ennis Railroad Museum and volunteered during the Ennis Polka Festival and Bluebonnet Trails. She was a Girl Scout leader for many years for the troop her daughters belonged to. Mary Ann was a subject matter expert on antique furniture, cut glass, pottery, and glass ware. She loved watching the Dallas Cowboys, Texas A&M Aggies and The University of Texas Longhorn football games. The Whataburger #1 with double meat, extra tomatoes and pickles and light onions was one of her favorite meals. She loved that her daughter, Jeannette, inherited her creativity and her daughter, Laura, inherited her passion for gardening. Mary Ann built strong relationships with her three grandchildren and encouraged their interests and passions. She cheered them on during their college days when surprise "Grammy packages" arrived by mail.  She had lasting and deep relationships with her family and friends.

Left to cherish Mary Ann's memory and legacy are her loving daughters, Jeanntte Lamkin Wilson, of San Antonio, TX and Laura Lamkin Bolang of Austin, Texas. Jeannette's husband, Lt. Col. (retired) Jeff Wilson and their three children and partners, Christoper Wilson and his wife, Karen Hua, Shelby Wilson and her fiancé, Alex Miller and Clay Wilson will sorrowfully mourn her loss, as well as Laura's husband, Andre Bolang. She is survived by her sister, Betty Novy Stone of Austin, Texas and her sister-in-law, Libby Moore Novy, of Longview, Texas. Mary Ann also has many nieces and nephews, cousins and life-long friends that she leaves behind.

Visitation will be Sunday, May 10, 2026, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the J. E. Keever Chapel in Ennis, Texas. A rosary will be recited at 5 p.m. during the visitation time. Mass of the Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, May 11, 2026 at 10 a.m. at St. John Catholic church in Ennis. Interment will be at St. Joseph cemetery under the direction of J. E. Keever Mortuary, Inc.

The family asks that memorials be made in Mary Ann's name for St. John Catholic church, St. Joseph Cemetery, Helping Hands of Ennis and masses and novenas be said in her name.

Submitted by family