In Memory

Mary Alice Gillespie (Waugh) - Class Of 1939

Mary Alice Gillespie (Waugh)

Mary Alice Waugh, widow of John Waugh, daughter of Jesse and Doris Gillespie, mother of Mary Ruth Waugh, and friend to many, died peacefully in her sleep December 28, 2014, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She was 93.

Mary Alice, known to all as MA, was born in Decatur, Illinois on November 28, 1921. Her family moved around some and eventually settled in South Pasadena, California where MA attended South Pasadena High School, class of '39. She went on to graduate from UCLA in 1943 and became an elementary school teacher. She and John Waugh married in 1946 and their daughter came along in 1955.

Music was one of MA's many passions. One of the highlights of her life was singing with Jester Hairston, a renowned expert on African-American spirituals. He was asked by the State Department to be a cultural ambassador. As part of this, he had a singing group that performed in foreign countries. MA traveled to China as a member of that group.

During the 1950s, the family went on many camping trips, especially in the Southwest. Mary Alice fell in love with Native American history and culture and it became her lifelong passion. When she moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico in the early 1990s, she became a docent at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (IPCC). She pursued other volunteer activities as well and became a member of the First Unitarian Church in Albuquerque. She continued both these volunteer activities until a diagnosis of congestive heart failure in mid-2014 forced her to slow down. A philanthropist at heart, she contributed to scores of organizations including the Museum of the American Indian, The Smithsonian, the Animal Humane Society, and more.

MA was completely devoted to her feline companions. She was an avid book lover, and read widely in various genres and belonged to a mystery book club for years. Mary Alice will be remembered for many things but perhaps most of all for her loving attention to her daughter, Mary Ruth, her generous spirit, her open heart, her delightful giggle, her insatiable curiosity, and the wide circle of friendship which surrounded her.

Albuquerque Journal, January 11, 2015