Mary Edna (Goddard) Herrington

Mary Edna Goddard Herrington, 92, of Madison, AL, passed peacefully into her Savior’s presence on June 19, 2022. She was the daughter of Richard Merlin and Elma McIntyre Goddard, and the step-daughter of Cynthia Carolyn (“Carrie”) Scott Goddard.  Born October 20, 1929, in Memphis, TN, Mary Edna had lived in Grand Junction, TN; Michigan City, MS; and Jackson, MS, by the time she was four years old.  Her parents then moved back to the Goddard family farm near Walnut, MS, to care for her grandparents.  The farm remained her home throughout the rest of her childhood. 

When Mary Edna was six, she lost her mother and unborn brother to cancer.  Five years later, her father married Carrie Scott.  “Mother Carrie” brought enthusiasm and joy into their home. 

After Mary Edna graduated from Grand Junction High School in 1947, she completed a year of pre-nursing curriculum at Lambuth College in Jackson, TN.  She then completed the 3-year course of study to earn her RN from the Methodist Hospital School of Nursing in Memphis.  Over the next 40 years, Mary Edna would work first as a surgical nurse, then in geriatrics, and finally in oncology. 

While working as a surgical nurse at Methodist Hospital in Hattiesburg, MS, Mary Edna met Mark Herrington, a young Navy veteran.  Mark and Mary were married on September 4, 1954.  Mark’s job entailed frequent travel and relocations, so he and Mary lived in many locations over the course of their married lives:  New Orleans, San Antonio, Kansas City, Memphis, and Birmingham, as well as small towns like Hattiesburg, Starkville, Louisville, and Moselle, MS and Chelsea and Madison, AL. 

Mary was committed to the Word of God and the service of other people. She was a devoted wife to Mark and loving mother to their children, Lynne and Bruce.   She spent much of her time and energy caring for her family and fellow church members.  She gardened, cooked, canned, sewed, and read. She loved people deeply and practically. 

After Mary’s retirement from nursing, she and Mark enjoyed an annual sight-seeing trip in the US, often traveling with Mark’s sister Carolyn and her husband Tom.

Advancing years and the after-effects of ovarian cancer treatment eventually took their toll on Mary. Despite the ravages of age and dementia, Mary Edna retained a balance of dignity and humility in her daily life.  She remained gracious, grateful, and courteous to the end.  She died at home with her family after a brief hospitalization for a subdural hematoma.

Mary leaves behind her beloved husband and caregiver, Mark Hilburn Herrington; her younger sister, Elizabeth Ann Dawkins; her sister-in-law Carolyn and husband Tom Ware; her daughter Lynne and son-in-law Keith Johnson; her son Bruce Herrington and daughter-in-law Amy; and her grandchildren Jon and Bethany Johnson Nemati, Captain Joshua and Rachel Herrington Mote, Mark Taylor Herrington, and Rebecca Grace Johnson; as well as several nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Westminster Presbyterian Church Huntsville’s Deacon Fund, or to Huntsville’s Downtown Rescue Mission.