Mary Ellen Loye Comer

Mrs Mary Ellen Loye Comer went home to be with her Lord on May 21, 2022.

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, starting with a visitation at Wilkerson Funeral Home from 1:00 – 2:00 PM and then a graveside service at Evergreen Memory Gardens with Rev. Gene Davis officiating.

She was preceded in her death by her husband of 52 years Charlie Carlton Comer. Sisters Cora Chaney, Ollie Stokes Brothers Johnny Loye, Wesley Loye, Albert Loye, George Loye, Cape Loye, Peter Loye, Porter Loye and Coolidge Loye.  Mary is survived by her daughters Shirley Comer and Theresa Comer and Sister Roxie Robinette and very special nieces and nephews who she loved like her own.

She was born August 23 1923 in Guilford  County North Carolina to the late Annie Carter Loye and John Rankin Loye. At a young age Mary moved to Reidsville where she got a job at The Chase Bag Company. She had not been there very long but long enough to be voted Miss  Chase Bag and to ride on their float in the Holiday Parade. She then went on to work for American Tobacco Company for 39 years. She married Charlie Carlton Comer in 1946.  The two met in Reidsville and once Charlie completed his service in the US Navy the two eloped to Chesterfield SC where they married. They had two daughters Shirley Comer and Theresa Comer. You could always spot Mary and Charlie in the stands at their daughter’s sporting events cheering them on. Mary herself was an avid bowler. She rolled many a ball at the Reidsville lanes. Mary had many hobbies and she did not mind hard work. Good weather days you most likely see her in the yard planting flowers, clipping or raking up leaves or   driving her golf cart around with her cat Penny following close behind.  Winter months she spent knitting, crocheting or quilting. She loved to keep her hands busy.  Mary and Charlie also loved watching Carolina basketball and Atlanta braves baseball.  

Mary had an infectious smile and loved to laugh. She loved to have fun and joke around with others, with a quick wit and a dry sense of humor. She never met a stranger and loved helping others especially her family members who needed an extra set of hands. She was a member of Hillview Presbyterian Church and later a member of Eastside Baptist church where she was baptized. Mary loved the Lord and relied on Him to take care of her. If you ever overheard her praying it was so real and heart felt. She kept it simple asking for his hand to guide her and to take care of the ones she loved and to guide them also. Shopping was another one of Mary’s favorite things to do. Having grown up in a large farming family clothes and shoes where cherished items. Mary loved to shop for pretty clothes and loved spending her money on her girls. She was also a saver when it came to money. She would go around to the different banks in Reidsville until she found the investment that would pay her the higher interest rate. She would move her money around to make an extra dime. She loved it and it did well for her.

Mary mowed her own yard until she was 85 years old, and you could find her burning a brush pile with her water hose in hand. She was a familiar face at the county office where she went to get her burning permit.

Once when Theresa and her Mom were restoring an old chest of drawers that had belonged to Mary’s parents, she told Theresa a story that lets you know how sassy she has always been.  It was Christmastime and Mary had starting wondering if her parents just might be Santa Claus.  So Mary went snooping. She starting looking through the drawers which she was not allowed to do and in one of them to her surprise she found the Christmas candy. Then about that time her father walked in and caught her. Mary said she’d never forget that father daughter moment. He was not happy!! She knew she had really messed up. He made her promise not to tell the others. Theresa asked her Mom why was he so mad…..you just saw the candy? She told her that candy was the only Christmas there was some years. Theresa  realized in that moment just how tough some of her Mom’s younger years had been. Mary never complained about growing up poor, she just told stories about her mischievous brothers and her sweet sisters. She so loved every one of them with all her heart.  

She moved to Huntersville NC to be closer to her daughters in 2011 at the age 88. Over time she transitioned to Ranson Ridge Assisted living in Huntersville where she became very well known for her infectious grin and singing her favorite song, “When God Dips His Pen of Love in my Heart”. During her stay at Ranson ridge she made new friends with residences and staff.  Mary had a way of winning people’s heart with her sassy way.  

Then came 2 years of Covid lock down with only window visits. Thank goodness she was on the ground level! Hats off to the amazing job Ranson Ridge did to keep everyone safe. We had to really trust in them to take care of Mom and they did a fantastic job. We will be forever grateful to the entire staff for their showing up and doing the right things.  To say it was a difficult 2 years is an understatement, but we got through it with God’s grace.

Even when her memory was slipping from her, God continued to use her to spread His love and kindness.  The staff would let her sit behind the desk like she worked there which made her feel needed. She loved it and I think she had a way to make them smile too. God has really put us all at the right place for these last years. I have a real admiration for the people who are able to do this type of work. They for sure have a special place in God’s kingdom.                

In the past days as Mary’s health declined, Ranson Ridge staff, along with hospice became yet another part of our family. They graciously provided us a place to have privacy and quietness where we could be by her 24/7.  

Although Mary is no longer physically with us, she will always live through us. She taught us how to be strong, work hard, never give up, and to love and be kind to others. Most important share a smile and help someone else smile.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal”      

Memorials may be made to Hospice & Palliative of Lake Norman 705 Griffith St suite 203, Davidson NC 28036 or Hospice of Rockingham County, PO Box 281 Wentworth, NC 27375.