Willa Maher

Willa Mary Neely Maher was born April 1, 1947 and died May 5, 2024 at the age of 77. She is survived by her longtime companion, Allen Crowe, and a host of loving friends and acquaintances.

Mary was born to William and Katherine Neely in Ohio, but her father died before she was born, and her mother moved to Atlanta, GA the same year. Mary had no brothers and sisters, but she had a beloved Grandmother that helped raise her. Mary joyfully talked about her Grandma Carr, who owned a traveling circus and went by "Divona the Water Queen", who could drink water while holding her breath underwater for at least three minutes. It was Mary's heritage and she loved it. That and the fact that she won first prize in a "Beautiful Baby" contest when she was very small. Mary had beautiful blond hair, a big smile, and dimples that she kept all her life. She looked beautiful in pink, her favorite color.

As a young person, Mary attended Corpus Christi and then Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Churches in Atlanta. She attended St. Thomas Moore Catholic School in Decatur and finished High School at Saint Joseph's Catholic High School. She attended West Georgia College, working for the Forest Service during the summers. After finishing college, she was hired by the U.S. Forest Service, Atlanta Regional Office, in 1968. Mary worked her way up to the position of Executive Assistant to at least six Regional Foresters. As such, she was a powerful force in assisting Regional Foresters, executive staff and employees with conservation management in the south. Mary retired, after 34 years, on March 5, 2002.

When asked about Mary, Al responded by saying that she was "an extremely special person." She loved music and dancing in the 80's and 90's and was always ready for a good time. She was kind to everyone, including homeless people she met, often giving them her gloves or umbrellas if they were in the cold or rain. She loved animals, and delighted in her neighbor's dog, Tallulah. She was fond of traveling to beach towns in the Southeast, especially Daytona. She loved to read, talk on the phone with friends, laugh and tell funny stories on herself, and she never turned down a piece of chocolate cake, liver and onions, or fried chicken.

Mary spent over four years bedridden before dying of a massive heart attack. Her body trapped her spirit, but never diminished her love of life. She remained upbeat in spite of her illnesses. For those that remained her loyal friends, grateful thanks for staying in touch through the good and hard times, and a special word of appreciation and love to Evelyn and Carol, who saw to her daily needs.