Mary Lauth

Mary Lauth (June 8, 1933 - August 21, 2024) On Wednesday, August 21, 2024, Mary Adelle Bettge Lauth, of Celebration, FL, and formerly of Odenton and Bowie, MD, passed away peacefully surrounded by family. Loving mother, nana, sister, and aunt, Mary was born in Leroy, Texas, to Edmund and Willie Mae Bettge. She was the third of nine children. She excelled in school at St. Martin’s Catholic grade school in Tours, TX, and West High School in West, TX. After working as a bookkeeper’s assistant in Waco, she took the Civil Service exam and got a job with the Air Force in Denver, then the Navy in Corpus Christi and San Diego, and finally the Foreign Service in Washington, D.C. Shortly after arriving in Washington, she met Jim at a Valentine’s Day party in Dupont Circle, fell in love, and married four months later—a marriage that would last 66 years. They moved to Bowie in 1962, where she often said she found ‘heaven on earth’ because she loved her new Levitt home and a community filled with other young families. She was a devoted suburban mother, volunteering for school and church functions, cheering on her kids from the sidelines, accompanying them to the pool in the summers, baking for neighborhood picnics, and playing bridge with neighborhood friends. A devout Catholic, she raised her family as parishioners at St. Pius X and later joined Sacred Heart Parish where she frequently attended daily mass and volunteered for years serving those in need at the House on the Hill. She is best remembered as a loving and devoted mom and nana who was a great listener and enjoyed hosting family get-togethers and baking for her kids and grandkids. She is survived by her loving husband Jim; children Jeanine Lauth of Alexandria, VA; Patty Tate (Larry) of Surfside Beach, SC; and Sharon Scheidhauer (Gerry) of Celebration, FL; and her 6 grandchildren: Allie, Max, Gar, Brooke, Jack, and Nicholas who will all miss her dearly. Mary is survived by her siblings Bill, Doris, and Vern; brothers-in-law Laurie, Hal, Bill, and Tom; sisters-in-law Wanda, Mary Clare, Zoila, Rosemary, and Kitty; daughter-in-law Tracy, and dozens of nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her son Jimmy and five of her siblings. Burial will take place at Queen of Angels Catholic Cemetery in Winter Park, Fla, Saturday Sept.14th at 10am. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to vitascommunityconnection.org