Mary Jane T Graesser

Mary Jane T. Graesser, 80, went home with Jesus on April 15, 2019. A celebration service will be held 11:00 a.m., Saturday, May 4, at First Woodway Baptist Church with Senior Pastor Paul Sands officiating. Mary Jane “MJ” was born November 24, 1938, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Elisabeth and Lazelle Thornton. She grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, and graduated from Alexis I duPont High School 1956. She attended Westchester State Teacher College, graduating with a BS degree in physical education in 1960. She was very active in horseback riding and training and showing open jumpers. She worked for a foxhunting stable both riding and exercising horses during her college years. On September 10, 1960, she married her high school sweetheart, Elmer C. Graesser, Jr. Shortly after his active duty in the Navy, they moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, where Elmer worked for Hercules Powder Company. MJ fell in love with the outdoors and mountains in Utah. She was very active training and grooming dogs. She raised Golden Retrievers with outstanding results in obedience trials and the breed ring. She was credited with training one of the first English Setters to earn a Utility Degree and Utility Dog Excellent in obedience work. Training dogs for the show ring and for the field to support her husband's hunting, duck and upland birds, were her passion. In 1972, her life took a turn when she was on a high jacked airplane out of Salt Lake City, Utah. This event caused her to search for why she was still alive and what God wanted her to do with her life. She knew of Jesus, but that experience led her to develop a strong relationship with her Lord and Savior. Along with her three children, she became active in Christian youth groups through both Presbyterian and Lutheran churches in Salt Lake City. She also coached her children's soccer teams and taught her daughters to ride and train horses. Then, in 1985, her husband was transferred for Hercules to Waco, Texas. They soon joined Highland Baptist Church. They lived in Waco for 8 years before being transferred for work to Ridgely, West Virginia. She enjoyed spending time biking, canoeing, and skiing with friends in West Virginia. In 2002, her husband retired and they moved back to Lorena, Texas, where she resided. There they joined First Woodway Baptist Church. Her life was full of adventure and a love for her Lord, her family, and her friends. She is survived by her husband of 58 years, Elmer C. Graesser, Jr.; three children, Pamela Schaelling and granddaughters, Gabriella, and Isabella Morris and husband, Blake Morris; Beth Lanning and husband, Robert Lanning, granddaughter, Caitlin, and grandson, Austin; and Scott Graesser and wife, Christian, granddaughter, Kate, and grandson, David. In lieu of flowers please send donations to The Seeing-Eye Dogs (www.theseeingeye.org). The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our “Tribute Wall” at www.WHBfamily.com.