Obituary of Mary Ann Fairlie

Mary Ann Fairlie passed away quietly at her home in St. Petersburg on January 20. Ninety-one years young, she passed with a smile on her face. A native of South Bend, Indiana, and graduate of St. Mary’s College, she met her husband, Drew, while he attended nearby University of Notre Dame. With Drew, she raised her family in Ohio and Kentucky before retiring to Florida in 1996.

Mom loved life and embraced all it had to offer: singing, sports, dancing, travel, quilting, Jeopardy, socializing, bingo, any “creature” (but especially cats), Wordle, casinos, cooking, reading, and especially laughing. She volunteered with her church, Holy Family, and Maria Manor for 25 years and was a constant presence and frequent officer in her Americana Cove Community. Mary Ann and Drew took long road trips every summer to visit National Parks and their eight children. They also traveled the world together, visiting six continents as they explored other cultures, histories, and cuisines. She shared her positive spirit generously, always looking for opportunities to spend time with and help others. She astonished us with her ability to adopt new technology, using Uber to get herself to the airport for her latest adventure, dictating text replies, and asking Alexa for the score of the latest Rays or Notre Dame game.

Mary Ann was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 66 years, Drew; her parents, Thomas and Mary Scherger, and her sister, Pat Mackin. She is survived by her eight children, Kathy (Greg) Cindric, Tom (Mary) Fairlie, John (Linda) Fairlie, Laurie (Bruce) Weil, Betsy (Tom) Judge, Peg (Jay) Adamczyk, Patty (Andy) Eversole, and Rob (Jenny) Fairlie; twenty-four grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and countless friends. We will miss her so much.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Catholic Charities, Ukraine Relief (https://bit.ly/MAFDonationsForCRS). Funeral arrangements are available at www.AndersonMcQueen.com.