Mary Lou Hague Many of you did not have the pleasure of knowing Mary Lou Hague; she spent a little more than a year volunteering for the Junior League. In just a few minutes, I will try to introduce you, although it's next to impossible to capture the spirit of someone who lived life as joyfully and in such a big way as she did. Mary Lou grew up in Parkersburg, WV, (and woe to anyone who dared to make fun of her home state). In Parkersburg, she was a straight-A student, drill-team member, church acolyte, and pretty much the girl you would hate if she wasn't so nice. We became friends our freshman year at the Univ. ofNC at Chapel Hill. She loved Chapel Hill, as you could see in her New York apartment, where her diploma was proudly displayed along with pictures of the azaleas in bloom and the gracious front porch of our sorority house. She remained fiercely loyal to her beloved Tar Heels and was always immediately suspicious of anyone who didn't believe that our most famous alumMichael Jordan-was the greatest basketball player to ever walk onto a court. See, when Mary Lou loved something, and she loved Michael Jordan, she loved it BIG. She loved to be out in the sunshine, whether it be on a tropical beach or in a lawn chair near Gracie Mansion. She loved to travel to new places and went all the way to Amsterdam because she'd always wanted to see the tulips in bloom. She loved her family dearly. It was not unusual at all to call her and discover she was talking to her mom or her sisters on the other line-and she'd have to call you back. Her family came first. She loved music. She knew every obscure one-hit wonder of the 80s and every song Michael Jackson ever sang. She loved dogs; she loved sleeping late; she loved watching VH -1 "Behind the Music." I know she saw the Ricky Martin one at least 4 times. I believe it was this great capacity for love in her heart that made her unique. It's what made her smile so incredibly bright and what made it such a great pleasure to be her friend. It takes dedication to be a great friend, but Mary Lou's dedication was not reserved only for her friends. She was very committed to the values and ideals she held dear. Tradition was important to her, and membership in the Junior League was not only a chance for her 1 Mary Lou Hague to serve her community, but it was also a chance to continue a longstanding tradition of League membership in her family. As long as I knew her, community service was an integral part of who she was. She was excited to have been placed on te Child Advocates Committee for this year, and whether it be mentoring a little buddy, or visiting a nursing home weekly in Chapel Hill, Mary Lou was genuinely happy to give her time to others. At her memorial service in Parkersburg, Mary Lou's minister told the story of how she came to him and asked to be an acolyte. Great, he said, but you know, you have to start out in the class with everyone else. She readily agreed, even though she knew everyone else just starting out was 8 years old. At the time, Mary Lou was 14. But she didn't care because that is how she wanted to serve the church and how she wanted to serve the Lord, so that is what she did. When Mary Lou put her mind to something, she did it. She moved to Memphis by herself at 22 to accept a great job in investment banking, and when the Memphis city limits proved too small three years ago, she moved to New York. More than anyone I've known, she was willing to step outside her comfort zone to look for new experiences and test her independence. She did not get stuck in ruts. She would walk into a party alone and walk out with new friends. At KBW in 2 World Trade Center, she came into her own as an analyst and was even quoted several times in American Banker for her professional insight. I imagine her answering those phone calls with poise and confidence and composure, giving just a little shriek after she hung up the phone. She could handle herself in any social or professional situation because she had good manners and executed them with heartfelt kindness. She was a lady. But how could you not be when you read every article in Southern Living and Southern Accents every month? I hope you all feel you know Mary Lou a little now. I wish more than anything you could all be on a committee with her or meet her at a party or spend a day painting with her at playground improvement. You would love her, and she would give you a nickname, she 2 Mary Lou Hague would stop work in the middle of a busy day to have chatties with you, she would go see a silly movie with you opening night. I miss her tremendously, as so many of her family and friends do. Tonight, excactly one month after what would have been her 2ih birthday, it's hard to know how to comfort them, hard to understand why such a bright future was cut so short. For me, I will honor her memory by looking for every opportunity in my own life to love more passionately, smile more brightly, to go after my goals more determinedly, and to take risks as big as I can. Because that's what she would do. 3
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