Mary Carol Wright Hawks–dearest wife, mother, and friend–passed away peacefully April 2, 2019 in the beautiful home she created with her husband, Brent. For sixty-two years, Mary Carol worked hard to make her house a home to everyone who walked through the door, be they family, friend, or acquaintance. She always knew just what was needed, and the centerpoints of her home reflected her focus on service. Rather than lavishing her home in the latest trends, she arrayed it in love, memories, and selfless compassion.

The kitchen was for preparing meals to take to neighbors in need and feeding her children with all their favorites, which she always stocked before they visited. She was often seen sitting on the family room floor, toy trains and tracks scattered about, and a grandchild talking excitedly as she listened to every word. Later in the evenings, her grown children would gather in the family room to laugh and talk, snuggled in blankets with the treats she left out for them. All the leaves of the kitchen table were brought out for large, noisy family dinners and boisterous games of cards. In the garage she dipped chocolates at Christmastime, keeping alive her mother’s memory for younger generations. Every detail of her home, down to the little paper cups kept in the bathroom for one last bedtime drink, was placed to make someone feel loved.

But home for Mary Carol extended beyond the walls of the cozy house in Hollister. She took great joy in bringing first her five sons, then her eleven grandchildren, to the seaside to watch the crashing waves, look for shells, or play in the water. Her influence quietly spread to the community as well, as she served faithfully in Church callings and in the Boy Scouts program. Rarely did she miss an opportunity to help her daughters-in-law with a new baby or her children with a move. Whatever needed to be done, she did without fanfare. Because she didn’t need recognition in her home. The happiness on the faces of those she loved was award enough.

Mary Carol came to her earthly home and the loving family of Kendall and Carolyn Wright on March 13, 1957 in Richland, WA, the only sister among five brothers. During a bout of illness in her childhood, Mary Carol’s grandmother read to her from the New Testament about having faith as a grain of mustard seed. The young Mary Carol asked “Grandma, you mean I could move a mountain if I wanted to? You mean I could fly if I wanted to … if I had the faith of a mustard seed?” Grandma Shaw said yes, she could do anything. She drew from that experience the rest of her life.

Faith played an essential role in the founding and maintaining of Mary Carol’s home. She often mentioned the promptings she received, attributing her awareness of the needs of others to divine guidance, not her own abilities. But her sensitivity to those around her came from a lifetime of humbly building her testimony and following the footsteps of Christ.

Brent and Mary Carol began their forever home June 14, 1980 and were soon prayed to California by Mary Carol’s mother, who wanted to be near her only daughter. Brent’s job brought them to Hollister, where their family grew to include five boys, who were Mary Carol’s world. Seeing the boys learn and grow, leave on missions, marry in the temple, and serve in the Church brought their Mama so much joy. At the end of every phone call, she made sure to remind her children she was so proud of them, just before she reminded them that she loved them. And the admiration she felt for her family extended beyond the children born to her. Not having any sisters or daughters of her own, she warmly welcomed her sons’ wives into the Hawks family, making sure they each felt they had a special place in her home. Grandchildren, too, understood that Grandma loved them, and she showed them with precious hours spent playing and talking.

Her family knew that home wasn’t so much a house in Hollister, but the faith and love they found wherever their dear Mama was. To the end, she never liked to make a fuss over her own needs. Even when diagnosed with cancer in March of 2018, her focus never wavered. Finding birthday and Christmas presents, making phone calls, and even mowing the lawn still took precedence in her home while she battled through many rounds of chemotherapy.

Now she has returned to her heavenly home, and while she has found relief from the pain of this mortal life, we know she won’t stop to rest for long. She will continue to serve her family, both those living and those gone before, in the way she always has—quietly and filled with love. 

Mary Carol is preceded in death by her parents, Kendall R Wright and Eunice Carolyn Shaw, and brother Isaac. She is survived by her husband, Brent; her five sons—Michael (Kathryn), Matthew (Corie), Jeffrey (Rachel), Brian (Arielle), and David (Kalle); her eleven grandchildren; and four brothers—Kendall (Linda), David (Donna), Norman (Kathryn, deceased), and James (Lori). Memorial services will be held Thursday April 11, 2019 at 7 p.m. PDT at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 1670 Cienega Rd., Hollister, CA. Interment at Sunset Cemetery in Moab, UT.