Mary Hester Powell, age 98, beloved cousin and friend, died peacefully August 27, 2020, at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, NC.
Mary Hester was born in Oyo, Nigeria, West Africa, to missionary parents, the late Rev. Julius Carlyle Powell and Rosa Beatrice Hocutt Powell, on May 21, 1922. She was given a special Yoruba name, ‘Abiose,’ meaning ‘Born on Sunday.’ Her birth was registered as an American citizen in Ghana, the nearest consulate.

In her early years she was home-schooled in Nigeria through the Calvert School of Baltimore, MD. Beginning in the fifth grade, her education continued in the States. Mary Hester graduated from Meredith College in 1942 and from John Hopkins Hospital School of Nursing in 1948.
She was appointed by the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1949 as a nurse to the Frances Jones Memorial Nursing Home in Ogbomosho, Nigeria. Mary Hester also had charge of the Kersey Home in Ogbomosho, an orphanage for children whose mothers had died in childbirth. Later she was instructor/supervisor of women’s and isolation wards at the nursing school associated with Baptist Hospitals in Ogbomosho and later Eku, Nigeria.
In 1962 Mary Hester returned to the States due to the failing health of her parents, now retired from the mission field and living in Warsaw, NC. From 1963-1987 Mary Hester worked part-time as a staff nurse at Duplin General Hospital in Kenansville, NC.
She was an active member of Warsaw Baptist Church, serving as Deacon, Sunday School teacher, choir member, and director of the Women’s Missionary Union. She also remained active in professional nursing organizations, including the Baptist Nursing Fellowship and the North Carolina State Nurses Association. She traveled widely to speak about mission work in Nigeria. Upon her move to Greenville NC, she became an associate member of Immanuel Baptist church.
In 2000, she moved to Greenville’s Cypress Glen Retirement Community, where she was beloved for her wit, her helpfulness, and her winsome personality. She was a member of the chapel choir at Cypress Glen, the Community Pops Singers, and the Barefoot Club. The family is grateful for the loving kindness and generosity of all the staff at Cypress Glen.
In 2018, Dr. David Gasperson published a biography of Mary Hester Powell and her parents: The Powells of Nigeria. 87 Years of Missionary Service. The book is available through Amazon.
Mary Hester had no siblings, but she is survived by a host of Hocutt and Powell cousins, whose lives she richly blessed.
Due to Covid concerns, a service will be held at a later date when it is safe for family and friends to gather to celebrate Mary Hester’s life of service.
Memorials may be made to Warsaw Baptist Church, 209 E. College Street, Warsaw, NC 28398; or to the Benevolent Fund at Cypress Glen, 100 Hickory Street, Greenville, NC 27858; or to the Hocutt Memorial Scholarship of the WMU Foundation, 100 Missionary Ridge, Birmingham, AL 35242.

Credit - Wilkerson Funeral Home