Mary Eva Womack Bagwell of Lubbock, Texas, passed away at home on September 16, 2026, surrounded by family. She was born on April 1, 1943, in Monroe, Louisiana, the only child of Ellis and Dorothy Rodgers Womack.

Mary Eva grew up in Oak Grove, Louisiana, and attended Oak Grove High School, where she was an officer in the Black and Gold Tiger Band, was selected for the All-State Band, and served as editor of the Tiger's Claw yearbook. She received the American Legion School Award and the John Philip Sousa Band Award and graduated in 1961.

She cherished the four summers she spent in the Texas Hill Country at Camp Waldemar for Girls in Hunt from 1954 through 1957 and returned in November 2025 to celebrate the camp's centennial. She dearly loved her years at LSU, where she earned a bachelor's degree in music education in 1965. She was a member of The Golden Band from Tigerland, Kappa Delta, Sigma Alpha Iota, and the staff of the Gumbo yearbook.

She married Bruce Benson Bagwell, originally of Choudrant, Louisiana, in 1966. During their 24-year marriage, they made their home in Delhi and raised their two children.

Like her mother, Mary Eva became a music teacher. From 1972 to 1990, she taught private music lessons. From 1979 to 1982, she wrote "Mary's Meddlins" for The Delhi Dispatch and "Delhi Doin's" for The Richland Beacon-News, sharing local stories, community observations, social news, and reflections on family life in the region. Her

family often served as willing guinea pigs for new recipes—and as inspiration for her columns. She later brought Louisiana's distinctive places and stories to life through feature articles for The Richland Journal.

Mary Eva's career also included public service and nonprofit leadership. From 1987 to 1990, she served as regional office manager for Louisiana State Senator Willie E. Crain, Sr. Beginning in September 1990, she served as regional director for the American Heart Association until retiring in April 2009. She oversaw the association's

work across 12 parishes and led numerous special events, including the Go Red for Women luncheon, "Cardiac Arrest", and Heart Walk. She was recognized repeatedly by the association for her fundraising performance and, in 1994, received the American Heart Association's Rome Betts Award of Excellence, a national staff award

recognizing her work. She later served as development and community relations director for Habitat for Humanity of Ouachita from August 2009 to November 2011.

Mary Eva's commitment to service extended throughout the communities where she lived. She volunteered with the Friends of the Lubbock Library, the American Cancer Society, and KEDM Public Radio; served on the Monroe Symphony Orchestra Board of Governors; and was a member of the Jaycee Jaynes and Beta Sigma Phi. Many will

remember her especially for her service to Delhi United Methodist Church, where she was the pianist, sang in the chancel choir, and directed the youth choir. She also led the chancel choir's anthems during worship, directed youth musicals, and organized memorable choir and United Methodist Youth Fellowship trips to destinations throughout the Southeast. She was also a member of the bell choir at St. John's United Methodist Church in Lubbock, Texas.

She delighted in a good book, a trip to the movies, dogs, a great pair of shoes, a Sousa march, a treasure worth collecting, a beach to comb, a place to explore, a dessert to go, and, always, a good laugh. Above all, her curiosity about the world was insatiable.

Mary Eva was preceded in death by her parents, Dorothy Rodgers Womack and Ellis Womack of Oak Grove and Monroe, Louisiana. She is survived by her two children: Dorothy Bagwell Durband and her husband, Arthur, of Lubbock, Texas; and Benson Womack Bagwell and his wife, Cherie McKeithen Bagwell, of Jonesboro, Louisiana.

She is also survived by her grandson, Benjamin Aaron Bagwell, also of Jonesboro.

Her final resting place will be Oak Grove Cemetery, beside her mother. Details of a remembrance will be shared at a later date. In lieu of flowers, Mary Eva's family suggests that memorial gifts be made to the Morris Safe House Foundation in Lubbock, Texas.