Mary P. Pettit, 82

Funeral services for Mary Patricia Moore Pettit, 82, of Isabella, were held  Feb. 10, 2020, at St. William’s Catholic Church in Gainesville with Father Leo officiating. Ms. Pettit died Feb. 5 at her home in Isabella. 

She was born May 4, 1938, in Richmond, California, the second child of Donald Stephen and Dorothy Mae Dever Moore. On Dec. 24, 1961, in El Cerrito, California, she married Thomas Daniel Pettit at St. Jerome Catholic Church. They had met in Berkley, California, while Thomas was stationed nearby in the Navy. Later, they made their home in Ozark County.

Ms. Pettit worked at the Bank of Gainesville in the early 1970s, then at Lynch’s Steak House. For the last 25 of her working years, she worked at St. John’s/Mercy Hospital’s Fremont Pharmacy in Springfield. She was a licensed pharmacy tech and cashier who waited on thousands of people during her tenure. She liked to talk to people and was well suited to the job. 

She was full of life to the end. More than anything, she looked forward to traveling almost annually to see her family in California, reuniting with her sisters and her brother. She had a routine call set up with her sister Dorothy that she almost never missed. 

Her hobbies included cooking, reading, swimming and water skiing, gardening, traveling with her family, watching the Kansas City Chiefs, spending time with her children and grandchildren, and doing more cooking. There wasn’t a time when she wouldn’t offer to cook something for an event. 

She had many friends in Ozark County and throughout Missouri. She would see many members of her “Lake Family” at Bull Shoals Lake several times each summer, swimming, water skiing and boating. Those friends were a literal extension of her own family, with kids and grandkids growing up with each other and returning each summer. 

In 2015, she and her son Clay visited their cousins in Westport, Republic of Ireland, her first visit overseas, traveling and going shark fishing in the bay. Through Clay’s military service, she was able to travel to many locations where he was stationed. Her son Tom took care of her and her home over the past 20 years.

Survivors include her sons, Thomas Stephen Pettit of Isabella, and Clay Daniel Pettit and wife Shonnie of Springfield; three grandsons, Stephen Pettit of Isabella, and Daniel and Scott Pettit of Springfield; three sisters, Dorothy Gardner of Oregon, Loretta Moore of Sebastopol, California, and Catherine Reyes of Dunnegan, California; and one brother, Stephen Moore of Santa Rosa, California.

She was preceded in death by her parents.

A private burial service will be held later at Pontiac Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to a scholarship that is being established in her name at Lutie High School. Contributions to the Mary P. Pettit Scholarship Fund may be left at Clinkingbeard Funeral Home in Gainesville, or mailed to Century Bank of the Ozarks, P.O. Box 68, Gainesville, MO 65655.

Arrangements by Clinkingbeard Funeral Home, Gainesville.

Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

Phone: (417) 679-4641
Fax: (417) 679-3423