Mary "Tut" Estes' Obituary
People who knew Tut realized she was one of a kind. A more loving wife, caring mother and grandmother, and loyal friend you could not find. Born Mary Josephine Evans on November 29, 1920, Tut was raised in Hapeville as the sixth of seven children of Charles and Elizabeth Evans. Growing up in the close-knit Evans family instilled a love of life and wry sense of humor in Tut. She got her lifelong nickname in November 1922, just before her second birthday, when archeologists discovered King Tut’s tomb. Her teasing older brothers chased her around as they christened her in sing-song, “King Tut, the Radio Nut.” The shortened “Tut” stuck, and it came to fit her fun-loving personality.
Crowned “Miss Hapeville” twice, at ages 16 and 18, Tut was a natural beauty whose blue eyes and bright smile lit up her face. After graduating Russell High School and secretarial school, Tut first worked for Atlanta garment manufacturer Nunnally & McCrea during World War II. Along with the company, she was awarded the Army-Navy “E” medal for “effort beyond the line of duty in the production of material for our armed forces” in 1943. She then worked for ten years as a secretary at Delta Air Lines, where she met her true love, Jack Estes, who worked across the hall at the time. During their engagement, the handsome couple was featured on the cover of the July 1952 issue of Delta Digest magazine in a striking photograph staged to show them planning their honeymoon trip. After they married in 1952, Tut left Delta and became a homemaker, while Jack stayed on as a pilot. Tut and Jack welcomed their daughter Leigh into their family a few years later.
Always active and looking younger than their age, Tut and Jack enjoyed traveling, tennis, running, and walking well into their 70’s. At 50, Tut took up tennis and competed on ALTA teams for many years, developing a tough forehand and wicked slice serve while maintaining her motto to have fun on the court and “smile after every point.” She also loved to take long, early morning walks in their Cochise neighborhood, and one year logged 1500 miles. Like her mother before her, Tut took her sports seriously and was a die-hard Braves, Falcons, and Bulldogs fan who cheered them through many tough seasons.
When her two granddaughters, Nicole and Emma were born, Tut traveled regularly to San Francisco to visit them. She also looked forward to their trips to Atlanta, where she enjoyed making their favorite breakfast, reading to them, watching Madeline videos, and walking over to the Cochise pool or playground together.
Tut loved deeply and unfailingly and lived it out in her close relationships with her family and in her dedication to friends. Most important she knew and loved her Redeemer and had an abiding faith; she and Jack were members of Northside Methodist Church for many years. Tut was a woman of kindness, beauty, laughter, and strength, who will be missed by the many who loved her.
Surviving relatives include her loving and steadfast husband of 60 years, Jack, her daughter Leigh and husband Jeff Schlichting, and their two daughters, Nicole and Emma. A memorial service will be held Saturday, January 12, at 2:00 PM, at Presbyterian Village (Lakeview Chapel), 2000 East-West Connector, Austell. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the American Alzheimer’s Association.
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