Mrs. Mary-Patricia N. Ashby, 71, of Mt. Airy, Maryland, passed away March 14, 2012 at the Frederick Memorial Hospital. She was the wife of John H. Ashby.
Born May 11, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York, she was the daughter of the late William Gordon and Edith Boyd Neese.
Raised in a Navy family, Mary-Pat Ashby graduated from St. Agnes Episcopal School in Alexandria, VA in 1958. She subsequently attended American University where she graduated with a degree in Education. While at American University, she met her future husband of 48 years, John Ashby. They were married at Grace Episcopal Church in Alexandria and lived in Washington, D.C. where she was a school teacher until the birth of her children. The family ultimately moved to Catonsville where she led the life of wife and mother until her children graduated from college. In 1989 she was called to pursue a career in ministry. She attended Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, VA and graduated with a Master in Divinity degree in 1992. She was ordained as an Episcopal Minister at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in 1993. She served two years at St. John’s in Mount Washington. She then accepted a full time position with the Diocese of Maryland in 1994 where she served for eight years as their Deployment Officer. In 2003 she was asked to pastor Grace Church in New Market, Maryland, where she served for eight years. During her tenure she was instrumental in the construction of a beautiful new church facility on Green Valley Road and oversaw the relocation of the congregation from the old church on Main Street. She retired in 2011. Her hobbies included traveling, knitting, reading, quilting and loving her grandchildren and her dog.
In addition to her husband, she is survived by two children J. Gordon Ashby and wife Holly D. of Lineboro, MD and Susan A. Ashby of Houston, TX, grandchildren Katie Ashby and William Ashby, and her sister Niki Lallande of Ft. Fairfield, MA. Several beloved nieces and nephews also survive.
Friends may visit with the family at the Stauffer Funeral Home, 8 E. Ridgeville Boulevard, Mt. Airy, MD on Monday, March 19, from 6 to 8:00 p.m.
A Memorial Service will be held at the Cathedral of the Incarnation, 4 East University Parkway, Baltimore, Maryland on Tuesday, March 20, at 4:00 pm with The Rt. Rev. A Theodore Eastman presiding.
Interment will be private.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the American Cancer Society in Mary-Pat’s honor.