Mary Jane (Powell) Lindsay

Mary Jane Powell Lindsay, 89, passed away October 26, 2023, at Pennybyrn at Maryfield.

Mary Jane was born February 17, 1934, to Roger Dane and Frances Louise Powell in Frederick, Maryland. She graduated from Frederick High School in 1952.  She entered nurses’ training at Frederick Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in August, 1952, and graduated in 1955. Following Maryland State board exams, Mary Jane received her R.N. status and worked one year in the Operating Room at Frederick Memorial Hospital before enrolling in post-graduate studies in O.R. training at University Hospital-Bellevue Medical Center in New York City. She completed the program with certification in 1957. Mary Jane served two years in O.R. nursing at NY Hospital-Cornell Medical Center in New York City, and her most memorable moment was being part of the team on duty in November 1957 when Caroline Kennedy, the future President’s daughter, was born.

In August 1958, Mary Jane accepted a position as O.R. Supervisor and Clinical Instructor in the School of Nursing at High Point Memorial Hospital in High Point, NC. It was here she met the love of her life, Robert Andrew (Bob) Lindsay.  They married on August 15, 1959.

Bob and Mary Jane spent 44 blissful years together before Bob passed away in November 2003. They enjoyed vacations in Myrtle Beach and watching Tar Heel basketball while compassionately raising three children.

Nursing was a calling for Mary Jane, and she enjoyed a rewarding career spanning 44 total years of service in various clinical areas. She spent more than 26 years in Geriatric Nursing at The Presbyterian Home as Evening Supervisor. In 1988, she completed nine classes in Gerontology at the School of Nursing at UNC-CH.  In 1996, she was the recipient of the Nursing Service Award bestowed by the N.C. Association of Non-Profit Homes for the Aging. In 1997, she was chosen to attend the Institute of Nursing Excellence. That same year, she was honored with membership in North Carolina’s “Great 100” Nurses.  After retiring in 2000, Mary Jane became a “professional volunteer” serving weekly in Day

Surgery at High Point Regional Hospital. She was a member of the Hospital Guild and served as Publicity Chairman.

Mary Jane was a long-standing member of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church, where she served on the Older Adult Council and Congregational Care Committee. She was a member of the Junior League of High Point, the High Point Arts Council, the High Point Historical Society, the High Point Literary League, and the High Point Country Club.

She was preceeded in death by her parents and her husband. Mary Jane is survived by her three children, Jane Lindsay Barrineau (Leon) of Charleston, SC; Martha Lindsay Brule (Jeff) of Georgetown, SC; and Bobby Lindsay (Julie) of High Point.  She is also survived by her grandchildren Sollyn Lindsay, Kiefer Lindsay, Jeffrey Brule (Olivia) of Columbia, SC, and Jason Brule (Gypzy) of Charleston, SC.  Also surviving is her sister Marlene Powell Levering of Walkersville, MD, two nephews, Darrell Levering and Mark Levering (Sherry), two grand-nephews and one grand-niece.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, November 11, 2023, at 11 a.m. at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church in the Chapel. The family will receive friends in the Asbury Room following the service. 

The family wishes to thank the staff of Pennybyrn at Maryfield and especially the Congdon House  for the outstanding care and compassion they provided to Mary Jane over the last six years of her life as she fondly called Pennybyrn her “home.”  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Pennybyrn at Maryfield—Congdon House.

Funeral arrangements provided by Wright Funerals-Cremations. 1720 Westchester Dr., High Point, NC 27262.

A message may be sent to the family at www.wrightfs.com.