Mary Lou Ham's Obituary
Mary Lou Britt Ham (October 7, 1925--April 4, 2014) Born in Ojus, Florida (Miami/Dade), Mary Lou grew up in a family of eight brothers and sisters, helping on the family farm in Turkey Creek, Florida, where she learned the life-long values of God, family, hard work, frugality, cleanliness, careful maintenance of possessions, self-motivation, and self-discipline. As a young girl, attending Lone Oak Baptist Church with her family, she came to know Christ as her Savior and Lord and lived a full life of faith anchored in Him. Though unable to finish school beyond ninth grade, she valued education and later earned her GED after "putting hubby through" pharmacy school at the University of Florida, always encouraging the academic success of her son Al and daughter Shirley, both born while she and her husband were living in a small trailer near the campus in Gainesville.
In 1950, she and her family moved to St. Petersburg, where, working as a loving and conscientious homemaker, she also helped to manage Ham's Pharmacy, their family-owned drug store, until it closed in the late '60s. Later, she worked for ten years as a school crossing guard in Pinellas County.
An avid Tampa Bay Rays fan from the start, Mary Lou loved baseball, keeping score and even helping to coach for her son's teams, often requested to pitch in neighborhood sandlot games. She enjoyed music, playing the harmonica from childhood and providing music lessons for her children; how she loved to listen to Al play the guitar, and Shirley, the piano! Boating and fishing from their getaway near the Weeki Wachee River were some of her happiest memories. Other interests and hobbies included restoring and refinishing furniture, painting miniature bottles, traveling (Spain, Mexico, Switzerland, Hawaii, Ireland, Alaska -to name a few destinations), reading, working word puzzles, and dancing (taking lessons in her later years). A pet owner with a heart for animals, she was never without a beloved canine friend until the last few years of her life.
In 2009 and in failing health, she moved again to Gainesville, this time to be close to her daughter-but she left her heart in St. Petersburg with its bright sunshine, open waters, and gulf breezes. She is now home with her Lord, in the glorious light of His presence, listening to the music of heavenly choirs-and dancing.
Mary Lou is preceded in death by her husband, Alfred Hubert Ham, and her grandson, Matthew James Gamble. She is survived by her sisters: Eleanor Regan, Vera Rowland, and Ruby Pope; her children: Alfred Hubert Ham, Jr., and Shirley Karen Gamble; her three grandchildren: Roger Dale Gamble, Michael William Ham, and Tamara Iris Martin; and seven great grandchildren: Erin Elizabeth Martin, Casalyn Brooke Gamble, Dalton Walker Gamble, Emma Grace Martin, Megan Angel Martin, Jenna Lynn Ham, and Joseph Reed Ham.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Mary Lou's memory may be sent to Northside Baptist Church in St. Petersburg, where she was a member for over forty years, or to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
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