Mary Frances Prevette O'Briant's Obituary
Mary Prevette O’Briant died on August 22, 2023 after a brief illness.
Born in 1939 in Salisbury, NC, to Olive Bumgarner Prevette and James Keith Prevette, Mary attended Boyden High School, graduating in 1957. In 1961 she graduated from Salem College, Winston-Salem, NC, with a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance. She earned a Master of Science in Psychology (1977) and a PhD in History & Systems of Psychology (1984) from the University of Georgia, Athens.
She is survived by her husband of 61 years, Walter Herbert O’Briant, three daughters, Jennifer O’Briant Portnick (James Portnick), Kathryn O’Briant Roper (Tracy Roper), and Erin Quinn O’Briant, along with four grandchildren, Callie (Brian) Laird, Jace (Diana) Roper, Mitchell (Sarah) Roper, and Jaynie (Jonathan) Griffie, and her sister, Camilla Wilcox (Sid Teague), of Lewisville, NC. She also leaves behind three great-grandchildren, Lia and Rory Laird and James Griffie.
Mary was a professional copyeditor for several commercial and academic publishers for more than 20 years.
She resided in Athens for 45 years, until she and Walter moved to Presbyterian Village, Austell, in 2009.
In lieu of flowers, donations to Historic Athens, P.O. Box 81186, Athens, GA 30608 are appreciated.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 14th 11:00 AM at Davis-Struempf Chapel with Rev. Tom Farmer officiating.
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