Our Soft spoken resident Mary Watkins, who, you would always find in the community room, was born in Ripley, Tennessee by Harry Parker Cox and Daisy Francis Dial. Her parents raised crops particularly cotton and corn. Oldest among eight siblings, manifested in her is hr responsibility by taking care of her five brothers and two sisters. Undoubtedly is her love and care by preparing meals and cleaning the house everyday besides helping her parents in the fields after school. Her desire to learn is evident by walking almost five miles everyday from home to Arp Elementary School. In spite of her eagerness to finish her studies, instead , she heeded to her father and worked on the farm. On December 31,1946 she married Clarence Thomas Hammock in Missouri. Their marriage lasted for four years. On September 15,1948 the joy of her life came when her son Clarence Thomas Jr. was born. December 1,1950, she found a friend and partner for twenty six years, Ben Watkins Jr. The result of their love was their three children Mary Lucille Cannon, Ben Floyd, and Danny Glenn. Added are their four grandchildren and thirteen great grandchildren. In search for an affordable and nice place they found Oak Lawn, Illinois in 1970 and decided to move and settle in as a family for thirty nine years. Besides being a wife and a mother , Mary shared financially to her husband by working at St. Louis Finishing a factory, by dying cloths for the Marines, Navy, and the Army on the assembly line. She even worked at Motorola Co. She spent 15 years at Western Electric, working almost everything particularly telephone parts. Also, added with that is hre 10 years of working in a coffee pot company. As a family they would sometimes have picnics and visit her parents in Tennessee for vactions. Holidays, particularly Thanksgivivng and Christmas was celebrated by her, cooking ham and chiken. She also loves baking cakes and pies, especially peach and apple cobbler. One fustration though is her love for deviled eggs but does not know how to cook them. In 2009, Mary moved and stayed with her son in Park Forest, Illinois for three months until finally they found Victory Centre of Park Forest which she was considering her home. Service Information Cemetery Private private private, IL 60466 --> Visitation Tuesday August 28, 2012 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM Lain-Sullivan Funeral Directors 50 Westwood Dr. Park Forest, IL 60466-1419 --> Service Tuesday August 28, 2012 4:00 PM to 4:30 PM Lain-Sullivan Funeral Directors 50 Westwood Dr. Park Forest, IL 60466-1419 -->