Mary Ellen (Anderson) Beard passed away peacefully to heaven on Tuesday, June 23, 2020, in Spring, Texas.  She is preceded in death by her parents, Charles David Anderson and Amelia Covey Anderson of Weslaco, Texas.  She is survived by her brother, Charles "Chick" Anderson and his wife Susan of Lake Dallas, Texas.  She is also survived by her daughters Beth Beard Yablon, of Dallas, Texas, and her four daughters Natalie, Caroline, Reagan and Lilly, and her other daughter Barbara Ellen Dearman and her husband Tom, of Spring, Texas and their two children Ruth and Joshua.  Mary is also survived by her nephew, David Anderson and his wife Julie, of Argyle, Texas, and preceded in death by her other nephew, Bill Anderson.

Mary Ellen was born on February 28, 1940 in Weslaco, Texas.  She graduated from Weslaco High School in 1958.  She attended The University of Texas and received her bachelor's degree in Education, and also was a part of the UT Band and played the clarinet during their half-time shows.  She was a Longhorn for life!  She also received her Masters Degree in Education at the University of Houston, and her Counseling Degree at Pan American University.  With her bilingual certification, she taught most of her 30-year tenure at Progreso ISD , teaching  Bilingual Pre-K, Kindergarten, and Secondary Education.  We enjoyed helping our mom make handmade stockings filled with books, fruit and candy , and also helped deliver Christmas trees to her students.

She was a life-long member of the First Presbyterian Church in Weslaco, Texas and was a member of the choir, and The Mary Rice Circle Bible Study.  She served as an elder at the church and helped with hospitality,  Sunday School and made hand-made quilts for the Moses baskets for families  in Mexico.

Mary Ellen was also very involved in her community   in Weslaco.  She gave her time and leadership to The Lion's Club, MDA  telethons, a local woman's sorority, The Weslaco Museum and  played the clarinet in many community events with the McAllen Symphonic "Town" Band for many years.

Mary's hobbies included  fishing with her father,  sewing with her Aunt Billy from Palestine ,  eating out with her cousins Bruce and Oleen Covey from McAllen, attending antique shows, road trips spending time with her many friends,   and visiting  her daughters and grandchildren as she watched them grow over the years.

She had a wit and natural humor about herself, and enjoyed attending social events whether it was a birthday party, wedding or a quincianera.  She loved life and loved people and all who knew her loved her and will miss her dearly.

The family would like to extend their appreciation to Mercy Elderly Assisted Living, Inc. in Spring, Texas and her loving staff Mercy, Daniel and Jane,  Linda with   Encompass Hospice and staff for their love and dedication to  Mary Ellen this past year.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to The Presbyterian Church of Weslaco, Tx, Weslaco Lion's Club ( Texas Lion's Camp), The Michael J. Fox Foundation, Dementia or Alzheimer's Foundation.

We will all miss you, Mom, Mary Ellen, Grammy, aka Mini...until we meet again in Heaven!

Flowers to be delivered to the following addresses: Beth Yablon 6011 Gaston Ave #110 Dallas, Tx 75214 & Barbara Dearman 3223 Spring Cypress Road #1225 Spring, Tx 77388