Mary Ruth (Vaughn) Dillard

Mary Dillard

1925 – 2025

RIP

Mary shall not grow older, as we that are left grow older:

Age shall not weary her, nor the years condemn

At the going down of the sun and in the morning calm

We shall remember her:

  Mary Ruth Dillard was born on December 18, 1925, near Toccoa, Georgia.  On January 22, 2025, Mary passed away in Miami, Florida, escaping her beautiful life during her hundredth year.

  Her father was a farmer and her mother self-employed.  Growing up during the Great Depression gave Mary strong common sense and resilience, shaping her decisions about daily events and people.  She was frugal and sensible, leaving behind various property, food, guns and ammo, and practical items to enable her children to thrive, even in a zombie pandemic.

  After graduation, Mary worked at Marietta Bell Aircraft Company, riveting sheet metal onto bombers during World War II.  “Rosie the Riveter” symbolized women and joined the workforce while men fought in the War.  A photo of 17-year-old Mary was used for war bonds and is displayed in the National Smithsonian.

  When War ended, Mary became switchboard operator at ATT, where most operators were underpaid women.  She led a strike winning better wages, pointing out that male operators were too impatient for the job and used profanity, frequently screaming “get the hell off” once the call ended.

  Mary met the love of her life, Ray Vernon Dillard, at a skating rink.  Ray was a charming, and a highly decorated Airforce hero from Enoree, South Carolina.  Mary considered him very handsome from their first encounter.  They married 76 years ago, and raised 3 children together: Debbie, Randy and Bill.  They will be reunited together at Greenhaven Memorial Gardens, Woodruff, South Carolina.  Ray was the last child of William Dillard, who moved his family from Woodruff to Enoree in 1925 to enjoy the good life.  The Enoree Dillard’s were settlers of Jamestown in 1650, pioneers in South Carolina, that fought in the battles of the Revolutionary War, and the 37th generational descendent of John Carbone D’illard, a vessel of Willaim the Conqueror in 1066.

  We will miss Mary dearly, but we are so grateful for the time we had to spend with her.  We will always feel her presence in our hearts.

  Surviving is her daughter, Deborah Rae Lewis; two sons, Randall Wayne Dillard and William Brooks Dillard; daughter-in-law, Iris Dillard; son-in-law, Richard J. Lewis; sister-in-law, Mary Vaughn/Wiggington; sister, Sarah Francis Slaton; 3 granddaughters, Shannon R. Belisle, Sarah Machado and Hannah Satko; two grandsons, Auckland Henry and Graydon Lewis Machado; 4 nieces, Janice Gill, Kim Campbell, Jackie Anderson and Gayle Howell Vaughn; 1 nephew, Tim Slaton.

  Funeral services will be held Saturday, February 1, 2025, at 12:30 p.m. at Lanford-Gwinn Mortuary Chapel, 257 North Main Street, Woodruff, S.C. by Rev. Richard Culpepper.  Interment will follow at Greenhaven Memorial Gardens.

  Visitation will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. prior to the service.

  Lanford-Gwinn Mortuary