Long time Decatur resident Mary Elizabeth McEntire passed away on March 13, 2009 only days short of her 102nd birthday. Born in Gordon County, Georgia, to James Thomas and Martha Gaye Chandler McEntire, Ms. McEntire was the youngest of eight children. She was the first in her family to graduate from a four-year college, earning her B.A. in Chemistry at Agnes Scott College in Decatur. Following graduation, Ms. McEntire went to work at the Georgia State Health Department as an unpaid water lab trainee. Over the years, she advanced to lab technician (a paid position!), assistant bacteriologist, and chemist. When most of her male co-workers were called to active World War II duty in 1942, Ms. McEntire was named head of the State Water Lab, the only female director of a state water lab in the nation. For the next 30 years, she continued to serve in that capacity, retiring in 1972 after 44 years of government service. Ms. McEntire was a charter member-and until the 1970s the only female member-of the 1,300+ member Georgia Water Pollution and Control Association (now the Georgia Association of Water Professionals). She served as the first woman President in 1967 and was the first recipient of the association's distinguished service award. In 1969, the association established the Elizabeth McEntire Award in her honor. In her leisure time, Ms. McEntire enjoyed the theater, gardening, bridge, and travel. With other "girls" from the Atlanta Business Girl's League, she toured most of the U.S. and much of Canada and Europe. She also remained actively involved in the First Baptist Church of Decatur until recent years. Although Ms. McEntire had no children of her own, nieces and nephews claimed her as a second mother. She is survived by her nieces, Martha Louise Rampley Rumph of Atlanta and Houston, Texas, and Carolyn McEntire Kingsnorth of Jacksonville, Oregon; by her nephew, Chandler Barber of Suwanee; by her great nephews, Lamar Barber of Marietta, and Jerry Barber of Tucker; by her great niece, Lee Rountree of Dunwoody; and by great-great nieces, Sarah, Katie, and Rachel Barber of Tucker. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, March 19, in the Chapel at A.S. Turner & Sons Funeral Home, 2773 North Decatur Road, Decatur, Georgia 30033, followed by a brief graveside service in the Decatur Cemetery. The family will be receiving visitors from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18, at A. S. Turner & Sons Funeral Home. Donations in Ms. McEntire’s memory can be made to the Agnes Scott College and First Baptist Church of Decatur, Georgia.
