Mary Elizabeth Trim

Mary Elizabeth Rowland Trim, 85, a woman with a heart for service, went to be with her Lord on January 19, 2017. Services will be 2:00 p.m., Sunday, January 22, at Western Heights Baptist Church with the Rev. Kip Osborne officiating. Burial will follow at Waco Memorial Park. Visitation will be 2:00-4:00 p.m., Saturday, January 21, at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Garden Room. Mary was born March 25, 1931, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to Louis and Winnie Rowland. She was the exact middle (#4) of 7 children, a fact often used by her to explain why she was who she was. She graduated as valedictorian from Istrouma High School in 1948 and went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in Bible with a minor in English from Baylor in 1951. There she met the dashing Walter Trim and married him on August 30, 1952. At the time of his death in 2015, they had been married 63 years. Mary and Walter raised their two kids in Big Spring, Texas, where Mary worked as a substitute teacher for many years. She eventually, and after age 40, decided to get her master’s degree in education from Texas Tech. After that, she taught special education students with severe disabilities in Big Spring and Dallas, retiring from teaching in 1992. She and Walter settled in his boyhood Waco home for their retirement years, where they were active in their church, Western Heights Baptist, in socializing with family and friends, and of course, in Baylor games and events. Mary was a lifelong learner, interested with passion in so many things. Her ministry was multi-faceted, from wife, mother, and grandmother, to GAs and RAs at church, to service to handicapped children, to teaching English as a second language, to supporting friends and family in their life journeys. She loved music, played the piano, and encouraged both of her kids in their music interests. Whatever she put her mind to, she accomplished at the highest levels, whether it was school, church, or simple acts of kindness. She had a great humor about her and would say the funniest things when you least expected it. Even in the nursing home, and with increasing disability, she won the hearts of staff and residents with her wit and sweetness. She will be greatly missed by all who were blessed to know her. Mary was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Walter Trim; son-in-law, Wright Allen; two brothers; and one sister. She is survived by a daughter, Susan Allen of Fort Worth; a son, David Trim and wife, Christine, of Los Angeles, California; two grandsons, West Allen and wife, Anna, of Euless, Texas, and Reeve Allen of Fort Worth; a brother, David Rowland and wife, Norma; two sisters, Nancy Eakin and Frances Peters; and many nieces and nephews and devoted friends. Memorials may be made to Western Heights Baptist Church or a charity of your choice. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our “Memorial Guestbook” at www.WilkirsonHatchBailey.com.