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Mary Gaunt
She was a native of Des Moine, Iowa and was the daughter of the late Harry Gilbert and Florence Lucretia Adams Barickman. She was the second of five children to be born to that greenhouse "Pansyvale" family. Her earliest memories, no doubt, were of playing in the piles of dirt and sand always close by. Her schooling began at Riley Elementary located at 53rd and Urbandale in Des Moines. While in the 8th grade she had a lead role in "Daddy Longlegs" She graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1932 having taken secretarial courses in addition to the basic requirements. During her teen years Mary made confession of her faith in Jesus at the First Friends Church in Des Moines which she attended regularly and was an active member of the Christians Endeavor group. Shortly after graduation she began working at Schultze and Birch Biscuit Company in Des Moines. Her bookkeeping skills were soon recognized and she began working in their office. Later she was promoted and transferred to their Chicago office. While in Chicago, she met Robert Gaunt who was in Naval training. They were married in June 1946 in the family home at 4911 Douglas Avenue. Mary and Bob lived a short while in Northeast Maryland, then made their home in Towaco, New Jersey. In each home and community Mary found opportunities to use her skills and talents as an actress. She became active in the Barn Theater in Boontown, New Jersey. They moved to Indian Rocks Beach, Florida, where Mary joined the Frances Nelson Playhouse in Clearwater. After moving to Warne, North Carolina in the late 1980's she soon joined the Licklog Players in Hayesville. Mary also volunteered for the Hayesville library and she and Bob became very active in the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd. She also sustained her love of the earth tending their acreage in Warne and growing beautiful flowers. She was preceded in death by two brothers, Harold Gilbert Barickman and Leroy Barickman and a sister, Catherine Elizabeth Barickman. Mary is survived by her husband of over sixty years Robert "Bob" Gaunt, two sisters: Beth Williams of Auburn, California and Janie Lorraine Wolbrink of Wellsburg, Iowa, a sister-in-law Patricia Barickman of Fulton, Texas and a host of nieces and nephews from TX,MI,FL,CA, VA, and the US Virgin Islands. Funeral services will be held at 2:30 PM, Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Hayesville, NC. Father John Rice will officiate. Inurnment will be in the Church Cemetery at a later date. The family will receive friends from 1:30 until 2:30 PM Wednesday at the church.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made in memory of Mary A. Gaunt to Licklog Players, PO Box 223, Hayesville, NC 28904 or the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd 495 Herbert Hills Road Hayesville, NC 28904
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