Mary Wiser

Mary Catherine Wiser (Wolf) died peacefully on August 15, 2024 at the age of 96 at A.G. Rhodes Wesley Woods in Atlanta, Georgia. She was born in Louisville, Kentucky to Charles and Antoinette (Nettie") Wolf.

As a teen, after the untimely death of her father, she held babysitting and house cleaning jobs, and lied about her age in order to land a job as a switchboard operator for AT&T while attending Ahrens Trade High School in downtown Louisville. After graduating she worked as an executive secretary and bookkeeper for American Synthetic, Reynolds Aluminum, and the Kentucky Lumber Company. She took great pride in her work, mastering the manual typewriter, note taking in shorthand, and had immaculate hand writing. She later acquired her real estate license, and became an award-winning real estate agent.

Mary had many interests and loved recreational sports. She was always taking pictures and making home movies. She loved being a mother, holding babies, and being around children. She was a girl scout leader and volunteered with the PTA and March of Dimes.

In her 20's Mary was on a women's softball team. She was very proud of this, and made sure it was known that she was "safe" after a slide into first base resulted in surgery and a scar on her knee. She also liked swimming, water skiing, riding her bike, and playing tennis and would teach as well as play alongside her daughters and grandchildren. She was an avid golfer for many decades, playing on a community league and anytime someone said "let's go".

Mary was a loving wife to her husband of 69 years, Ray Henry Wiser. They met on a blind date and were married at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. Together they managed his building and farming businesses. They loved growing a large vegetable garden and sharing their freshly picked produce with friends, relatives and clients. They enjoyed square dancing, camping, and fishing, and almost never missed a family gathering or daughters' events. They liked going on trips or just "out for a drive". In their older years when no longer driving they traveled to many local and out of state destinations on bus tours with community members, and were seen by neighbors driving their gator ATV around their farm.

Following the loss of Ray, Mary moved to Georgia to be close to one of her daughters. Despite experiencing a fall which left her wheelchair dependent, and the progression of dementia, she remained known for her endearing personality, and ability to say "I love you" despite the challenges she had with her speech.

Mary is survived by her two sisters, Thelma and Cecilia ("Cecy"), her two children Robin and Rhonda, 3 grandchildren, Ethan, Maxi, and Ryan, and multiple nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her brothers Fred, Edward, Jim, George, Charles, and Carl.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to A.G. Rhodes at www.agrhodes.org/donate.

A celebration of Mary's life will be held in Louisville Kentucky where she will be laid to rest at the Hillcrest Cemetery at a later date in September.