Ms. Mary Marks Guillory's Obituary
Mary Marks Guillory beloved and dedicated Matriarch of the Marks Guillory family of Houston, TX and Opelousas, LA departed this life on December 31, 2023. Mary chaired the Board of Directors of Houston Ebony Music Society, Inc. and worked feverishly to develop and provide performance opportunities for the Houston Ebony Opera Guild. In addition, to her work with the Guild, Mary committed over 31 years of her life to serving on boards and committees of human service, educational, and performing arts organizations, on local and national levels. Local organizations include Vocational Guidance Service of Houston, Houston Arts Alliance, Imprint, Community Music Center of Houston, Houston Symphony, Foundation for Modern Music, Houston Grand Opera, and the Wesley Foundation at the University of Houston. National organizations include Society for College and University Planning and Kennedy Center’s Annual Symposium for Arts Organizations in Communities of Color. Mary was an avid patron and supporter of musical and theatrical artists. For Mary Marks Guillory volunteering was an inherited family value.
Mary came of age in the era when many African countries were emerging from colonialism, thus igniting her interest and passion for the French language as she hoped that she would be a part of the unification between the Africans of the diaspora and African Americans. Mary’s academic career includes a B.A. degree in French from Southern University in Baton Rouge (LA), where she joined the illustrious sisterhood of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. an M.A. degree and further study in French literature from Columbia University in New York (NY). Mary also pursued additional graduate study at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (TX) where her emphasis was on health planning and policy.
Mary retired from a career spent primarily in the field of higher education, where she taught college French at Hampton University (VA) and Rutgers University (NJ) before shifting to administrative positions in public relations, institutional planning, and finally resource development. Mary’s brief stint outside of higher education was devoted to nonprofit management. After settling in the Lone Star state, she served as a development officer at Prairie View A & M University, went on to serve as the associate director for planning at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and then went on to serve as the Assistant to the Chancellor at the University of Houston. Mary retired as the Development Director at the University of Houston, School of Social Work in 2012.
Beyond the realm of service to the community in general, there was the special opportunity to serve within the United Methodist Church (UMC). Mary is a longstanding member of Riverside UMC where she has served in several leadership positions including Lay Leader chairperson of the Committee on Higher Education.
Mary, a native of Mer Rouge, LA, was the daughter of the late Austin and Verta Alford Marks. Mother of Elbert L. Guillory II and grandmother of Kennedy, Malik, and Ava Guillory, sister of Shirley Marks Whitmore (Clarence Whitmore) and Earlis Marks. She also leaves behind her beloved nieces and nephew, Zani, Dali, and Ta, as well as a host of cousins and extended family of the greater Marks, Alford, Guillory & Whitmore families of Louisiana and Texas.
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