Mary Batts, beloved mother of five children and Mémé to eight grandchildren, passed from this life on Dec. 18 at Concord Memory Care in Knoxville. She will be missed dearly by her family, friends, and anyone who had the pleasure of knowing her.
Mrs. Batts was born on June 17, 1941, in Nashville and was the third of four children of Thomas and Winifred Burke. She attended Christ the King School and St. Bernard Academy, where she made lifelong friends with whom she reunited almost every year. While in Nashville, she met her dear husband, William, to whom she was married for 55 years until his passing.
Mrs. Batts moved to Chattanooga, where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education and where she would spend 40 years raising a family and 25 years teaching at St. Jude School.
During her time as a member of St. Jude Parish and as a teacher at St. Jude School, Mrs. Batts befriended and came to be loved by countless parishioners, students, and faculty. She was known as one of the kindest, gentlest, and happiest souls that anyone could ever meet, and she helped to better the educations and lives of an untold number of students, many of whom would later tell her that she was the reason they had gone on to succeed in their education and careers.
She retired from teaching in 2004 and spent most of the next 20 years traveling, seeing her grandchildren, and pursuing her second love, dancing.
In addition to her husband and parents, Mrs. Batts was preceded in death by her sister, Barbara Flowers, and her brother, Thomas Burke Jr.
She is survived by five children: Will Batts (Curtis), Pam Pike (Alan), Teresa Ward (Derek), Judy Hagerty (Patrick), and Daniel Batts (Chrissie). She also is survived by eight grandchildren who she loved dearly: James Goodman and Addison Batts-Petty, Tanner and Haleigh Ward, Kylie and Dylan Hagerty, and Zane and Charlie Batts.
Following a rosary on Dec. 22, a funeral Mass for Mrs. Batts was held on Dec. 23 at St. Jude Church in Chattanooga, with Father Charlie Burton serving as the celebrant. Burial was in Hamilton Memorial Gardens in Chattanooga.
Donations in Mrs. Batts’ memory can be made to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research at give.michaeljfox.org.