Mary Evelyn Hargroue

A Celebration of Life for Mary Evelyn Hargroue, 75, of Moscow, will be held from 1-4pm on Saturday, May 20 at The Pope House 14617 Old Hwy 35 N Road in Moscow.  Everyone is welcome to stop by and fellowship with family and friends.

Mrs. Hargroue passed away Monday, May 15, 2023, in Lufkin, Texas. She was born on August 1, 1947, in Camden, Texas to the late Ragley Dick and Evelyn (Smelly) Pope.

Mary Pope Hargroue was born in Camden, Texas the daughter of R.D. & Evelyn (Smelly) Pope.  While attending Stephen F. Austin State University, she volunteered at the rodeo each year and attended all events associated with it.  She worked the concession stands and one evening, a dapper young man approached her and she was immediately smitten.  She and Johnny Hargroue spent many nights dancing the evening away and enjoying their time together.  A year later when the rodeo came around, there was Johnny and Mary…making their mark on the dance floor and enjoying the rodeo.  They dated and then married in 1970.  The next 53 years were spent side by side and the love they shared was a great example of what a husband and wife should be.  Their love story includes the birth of their sons, Johnny and Michael.  The days were filled with sports that the boys played, including Mary coaching Michael’s basketball team one year.  Mary helped with Michael’s FFA accomplishments and even had to help him catch his show sheep that escaped his pen and was being chased by Joe the mule. They traveled to their favorite places for camping each year at Garner State Park and occasionally to Big Horn Mountains.  They even built a log cabin to live in with their own strength and skills, with the boys working right beside them. Mary & Johnny would drive halfway across the state of Texas to attend soccer, little league, softball tournaments, football games, dance recitals, school assemblies and theater performances for the grandchildren.  The times they spent together as a family were abundant and helped to mold Johnny and Michael’s lives. 

Mary loved people and was a giver by nature.  She had a soft spot for rodeo and even as she taught school as a substitute teacher at Waller ISD and Corrigan ISD, she always made time for her extracurricular agenda.  Just a few of the things she accomplished were being past President of PTA at AB Freeman Elementary School in Houston, Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo Lifetime Member, SFA Rodeo Club Secretary, FFA Booster Club President as well as numerous other things that simply just came up and she volunteered to be a part of. Mary volunteered for many years at the local voting location any time there was an election in Waller and Polk counties. She volunteered with the Freeway Manor Little League in various capacities. Mary was also a lifetime member of Moscow 1st Baptist Church.

However, her pure heart was filled with joy by her family.  She loved each of them dearly and gave of herself without boundaries.  When she became a grandmother, her heart overflowed with the sweet love that only a grandmother can have for her grandchildren.

Mary is survived by her loving husband of 53 years, Johnny Hargroue of Moscow; sons, Johnny Hargroue, Jr. and wife, Stacey; Michael Hargroue; grandchildren, Katie Hargroue, Nick Hargroue, Elizabeth Marberry & husband, Chad, Jake Hargroue, Paige Adleman, Dylan Adleman and Rylie Adleman; brother, Leon Pope and sisters, Linda Turek and Sandra Welch.

She is preceded in death by her parents, RD & Evelyn Pope and daughter-in-law, Randi Hargroue.

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