Mary Mayer

“The world lost a beautiful, fiery, nutty, smart, and selfless woman today, but Heaven, Heaven gained the soul of a saint,” as stated by her granddaughter, Jessica.

Mary Quirk Mayer, 96, peacefully passed away at  11 a.m. on Monday, April 20, 2020 surrounded by her 3 devoted children.

A private graveside service will be conducted by Fr. Matthew Higginbotham (Immaculate Conception Catholic Church - Washington) in St. Landry Catholic Cemetery.

Mary Fannie Quirk was born on September 12, 1923 to Paul Edward “Ned” and Mary Fannie Airhart Quirk in St. Louis, Missouri.  She spent the first 4 years of her life traveling across the USA from the Midwest to California and back as her father worked as a cattle driver in a time before fences.  The Quirk family returned to Washington around 1928 to be among family. Mary lost her mother in 1930 and was raised along with her siblings by her father “Ned” and her beloved grandmother, Aimee Dulfiho Quirk.

Upon completion of high school, Mary enrolled and graduated from Hotel Dieu in New Orleans as a Registered Nurse. She loved and often spoke of her forty plus year career in nursing. She worked at hospitals in New Orleans and Opelousas and “loved every minute of caring for my patients,” as she was often heard to say.

In 1959, Mary Quirk married Raymond “Hugh” Mayer. Of this union, Mary and Hugh had three children. She was a devoted and loving mother who allowed her children to experience life as she had and would summon them home by blowing a specific call on a cow horn. As grandchildren began to arrive Mary , now a widow, was passionately the self appointed champion of each grandchild (biological or not) and each one always knew, without a doubt, that “MaMa” thought they were the most special person on earth.

Mary is survived by her son, Raymond Mayer and his wife, Janine, daughter, Mary Louise Prejean and her husband, Thad, and son David Mayer and his wife, Michelle. She also leaves behind seven grandchildren Eric, Morgan, Jessica, Trent, Jenifer, Andrew, and Matthew, 15 great grandchildren, and one great great granddaughter.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Raymond “Hugh” Mayer, Sr., parents Paul Edward “Ned” and Mary Airhart Quirk, her brother, Gober “Sonny” Quirk, and sisters, Rosa Q. Mack, and Georgette Q. Reinecker.
Pallbearers will be David Mayer, Andrew Mayer, Trent Mouton, Raymond Mayer, Jessica Mayer, and Eric Prejean.

Words of Comfort to the family may be expressed at www.sibillefuneralhomes.com. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Sibille Funeral Home of Opelousas.