Mary Ellen Becker, born February 20, 1917, was the youngest of the five children of Ferd and Bettie Drane Becker. She graduated From Hollins College in Roanoke, Virginia in 1940 with a degree in biology. On September 1st of that same year, Mary married Van. R. Hatcher, Jr., who had come to Brookhaven, MS after his graduation from the University of Texas to work for the State Tax Commission. Van's recollection of their meeting, as told to his family, was that of attending a party as a guest of Tommy Becker at the Wood family home on Natchez Avenue in Brookhaven, when Mary got his attention by asking if he had been invited. The boldness of her comment made a big impression on Van and he decided he wanted to know her better.
Van entered the Army in 1941, initially working in several capacities for the war effort and then training in the all-volunteer combat glider pilot program of the U. S. Army Air Corps, and was eventually sent to the European Theater. During the war years, Mary worked for a time as an inspector at a parachute factory in Columbia, MS, and was always quick to point out that she was not the final inspector of the parachutes. After the war, the Hatchers lived briefly in New York City and New Orleans, but eventually returned to Brookhaven, where they began their family.
Mary was a devoted and energetic mother, and took up her life's work of raising daughters and flowers, caring for dogs and helping those with needs in her family, neighborhood, and church. Mary's selfless attention to others was recognized in 1995 when she was nominated for Brookhaven's Daily Leader Unsung Heroes Award. The nomination stated: "The term Unsung Hero fits Mary Hatcher because she never wants the limelight, but you can't get any closer to the real thing." Years earlier the same local newspaper recognized Mary's devotion to neighborhood dogs by noting that a well-known and loved dog, Tip, had died in her carport. The article stated: "Mrs. Hatcher reportedly is the friend to whom all the neighborhood dogs turn in distress."
Mary's gardening efforts resulted in Yard of the Month honors more than once from the Brookhaven Beautiful organization. In her later years she started mowing her own grass (when the yard man retired!) And continued to do so until just a few months before her death in 1999 at the age of 82. When Mary learned of her terminal illness she said that she had been "struck down in the prime of life." However, Mary still gives to those who knew her from their memories of a "heart full of love."
(Material for the above biography was taken from excerpts of Mary Ellen Becker Hatcher's biography, as written by her daughter, Bettie Hatcher Cox, for "The Becker Family" 2006 Reunion publication.)
Van entered the Army in 1941, initially working in several capacities for the war effort and then training in the all-volunteer combat glider pilot program of the U. S. Army Air Corps, and was eventually sent to the European Theater. During the war years, Mary worked for a time as an inspector at a parachute factory in Columbia, MS, and was always quick to point out that she was not the final inspector of the parachutes. After the war, the Hatchers lived briefly in New York City and New Orleans, but eventually returned to Brookhaven, where they began their family.
Mary was a devoted and energetic mother, and took up her life's work of raising daughters and flowers, caring for dogs and helping those with needs in her family, neighborhood, and church. Mary's selfless attention to others was recognized in 1995 when she was nominated for Brookhaven's Daily Leader Unsung Heroes Award. The nomination stated: "The term Unsung Hero fits Mary Hatcher because she never wants the limelight, but you can't get any closer to the real thing." Years earlier the same local newspaper recognized Mary's devotion to neighborhood dogs by noting that a well-known and loved dog, Tip, had died in her carport. The article stated: "Mrs. Hatcher reportedly is the friend to whom all the neighborhood dogs turn in distress."
Mary's gardening efforts resulted in Yard of the Month honors more than once from the Brookhaven Beautiful organization. In her later years she started mowing her own grass (when the yard man retired!) And continued to do so until just a few months before her death in 1999 at the age of 82. When Mary learned of her terminal illness she said that she had been "struck down in the prime of life." However, Mary still gives to those who knew her from their memories of a "heart full of love."
(Material for the above biography was taken from excerpts of Mary Ellen Becker Hatcher's biography, as written by her daughter, Bettie Hatcher Cox, for "The Becker Family" 2006 Reunion publication.)
Mary Ellen Becker, born February 20, 1917, was the youngest of the five children of Ferd and Bettie Drane Becker. She graduated From Hollins College in Roanoke, Virginia in 1940 with a degree in biology. On September 1st of that same year, Mary married Van. R. Hatcher, Jr., who had come to Brookhaven, MS after his graduation from the University of Texas to work for the State Tax Commission. Van's recollection of their meeting, as told to his family, was that of attending a party as a guest of Tommy Becker at the Wood family home on Natchez Avenue in Brookhaven, when Mary got his attention by asking if he had been invited. The boldness of her comment made a big impression on Van and he decided he wanted to know her better.
Van entered the Army in 1941, initially working in several capacities for the war effort and then training in the all-volunteer combat glider pilot program of the U. S. Army Air Corps, and was eventually sent to the European Theater. During the war years, Mary worked for a time as an inspector at a parachute factory in Columbia, MS, and was always quick to point out that she was not the final inspector of the parachutes. After the war, the Hatchers lived briefly in New York City and New Orleans, but eventually returned to Brookhaven, where they began their family.
Mary was a devoted and energetic mother, and took up her life's work of raising daughters and flowers, caring for dogs and helping those with needs in her family, neighborhood, and church. Mary's selfless attention to others was recognized in 1995 when she was nominated for Brookhaven's Daily Leader Unsung Heroes Award. The nomination stated: "The term Unsung Hero fits Mary Hatcher because she never wants the limelight, but you can't get any closer to the real thing." Years earlier the same local newspaper recognized Mary's devotion to neighborhood dogs by noting that a well-known and loved dog, Tip, had died in her carport. The article stated: "Mrs. Hatcher reportedly is the friend to whom all the neighborhood dogs turn in distress."
Mary's gardening efforts resulted in Yard of the Month honors more than once from the Brookhaven Beautiful organization. In her later years she started mowing her own grass (when the yard man retired!) And continued to do so until just a few months before her death in 1999 at the age of 82. When Mary learned of her terminal illness she said that she had been "struck down in the prime of life." However, Mary still gives to those who knew her from their memories of a "heart full of love."
(Material for the above biography was taken from excerpts of Mary Ellen Becker Hatcher's biography, as written by her daughter, Bettie Hatcher Cox, for "The Becker Family" 2006 Reunion publication.)
Van entered the Army in 1941, initially working in several capacities for the war effort and then training in the all-volunteer combat glider pilot program of the U. S. Army Air Corps, and was eventually sent to the European Theater. During the war years, Mary worked for a time as an inspector at a parachute factory in Columbia, MS, and was always quick to point out that she was not the final inspector of the parachutes. After the war, the Hatchers lived briefly in New York City and New Orleans, but eventually returned to Brookhaven, where they began their family.
Mary was a devoted and energetic mother, and took up her life's work of raising daughters and flowers, caring for dogs and helping those with needs in her family, neighborhood, and church. Mary's selfless attention to others was recognized in 1995 when she was nominated for Brookhaven's Daily Leader Unsung Heroes Award. The nomination stated: "The term Unsung Hero fits Mary Hatcher because she never wants the limelight, but you can't get any closer to the real thing." Years earlier the same local newspaper recognized Mary's devotion to neighborhood dogs by noting that a well-known and loved dog, Tip, had died in her carport. The article stated: "Mrs. Hatcher reportedly is the friend to whom all the neighborhood dogs turn in distress."
Mary's gardening efforts resulted in Yard of the Month honors more than once from the Brookhaven Beautiful organization. In her later years she started mowing her own grass (when the yard man retired!) And continued to do so until just a few months before her death in 1999 at the age of 82. When Mary learned of her terminal illness she said that she had been "struck down in the prime of life." However, Mary still gives to those who knew her from their memories of a "heart full of love."
(Material for the above biography was taken from excerpts of Mary Ellen Becker Hatcher's biography, as written by her daughter, Bettie Hatcher Cox, for "The Becker Family" 2006 Reunion publication.)
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