LELAND — The Rev. Mary Louise Coons, 89, formerly of Dresher, Penn., was born April 2, 1928 in Rochester, N.Y., and passed away Saturday, May 6, 2017, in Wilmington, N.C.
She studied at the Eastman School of Music and Fredonia State Teacher’s College in Rochester, N.Y., and received her B.A. from Wheaton College in Illinois. She also studied for her Masters Degree in Voice from the Eastman School of Music, and received a Master of Arts in Christian Counseling from Faith Theological Seminary in Tampa, Fla.
She was a licensed clinical pastoral counselor through the National Christian Counselors Association and an ordained minister. She was the minister of music at the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Union City, Tenn., for seven years and at the Church of the Open Door in Fort Washington, Penn., for 12 years. Her annual presentations of Handel’s Messiah were, in the words of the music critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer, “…on a par with any professional rendering at the Philadelphia Academy of Music.”
She is survived by two daughters, Cheryl Coons of Chicago, Ill., a playwright, lyricist and vocalist, and Dr. Caryn Coons of Leland, N.C., a psychotherapist; and sister, Marjorie Nelsen of Longwood, Fla.
Her life verse was Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, and are the called according to His purpose.”
A graveside funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 10, at Greenlawn Memorial Park with the Rev. Russ Nanney officiating.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Wilmington CareNet Counseling Center.
Share online condolences with the family at andrewsmortuary.com.
