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IN LOVING MEMORY OF Mary Poor Avant
Mary Poor
Avant
d. Jun 30, 2018
Horn Lake
Mary Poor Avant's Obituary
Five Feet Tall and Rising
A Look at the Life of Mary Poor Avant
Few could have guessed that a girl, born in the late 1930s, near Newbern, TN, raised under the protective arm of a strong father and married before age twenty to a man that would take the place of her strong father, would grow into a strong and decisive woman. This is the story of such a girl, barely five feet tall on a low gravity day, Mary Poor Avant. Although she was born in the middle of a large family and sheltered by the strong men in her life, the fact that she was born a girl in 1940s and 1950s America meant that she would never be considered for her strength or even realize she would have a ferocity to match any man. As a matter of fact, she was most comfortable under the protective arms of dad Grady and husband Carl. She exhibited a carefree joy and continuous optimism during those years. She herself did not know of the challenges she would face or the manner in which she would face them. In the latter years, many would forget or not know of the joyful nature of her life
when she was younger. Challenges add to who you are, thankfully they do not change who you are. Mary lost her dad about the time she gained a good husband and she traded her trust in her dad for the trust she had in her husband, Rusty. She was soon in her best element, as a wife and mother, taking care of her husband and her children. Your writer is her first born and does hereby attest that these things are true. But since life is a series of challenges, it was the case with Mary. Children's illness, business obligations and routine daily events try to steal joy. Seeing her children raised but then losing her husband to death after thirty on
e years of marriage takes a toll
on a young woman
. And yet we keep on fighting for our families and meeting our obligations.
Losing a husband is difficult enough but Mary and Rusty had worked side by side building Avant Insurance from scratch, starting in Southaven in 1965. In those days, the Man from Nationwide was on your side. Even in 1988 with
Rusty's
passing, it was still the prevailing culture in the American insurance industry. But things were about to change and believe it or not, Mary Poor Avant, the little girl from Newbern, TN, would be one of the people that would begin to teach
Nationwide that the woman from Nationwide was also On Your Side.
When Nationwide corporate expressed their wish that they would rather have a 30 year old man (with NO insurance experience) than a 50 year old woman (who had been there every step of the way building the business), Mary left her mourning clothes behind. The transformation was immediate and overwhelming. In a change reminiscent of a super hero, think of Wolverine or the Incredible Hulk, Mary, all five feet of demure woman, set her gaze upon the pervasive system of male domination and with the force of righteousness she blazed a path all the way to Columbus, OH, Nationwide's home office. With help from her customers and friends in
DeSoto
cou
nty and the
determination of a woman that would not be wronged, she took on the corporate bureaucracy and paved a way for the many women now in the insurance industry, not as secretaries or clerks, but as principal agents and business owners. It was a sight to behold at the time but more importantly, a new sight can be seen
now in the world of insurance because she had the courage and conviction to rise above the world described limitations and make her own mark on the world.
In reflection, Mary did not know what she held deep down inside. The world would give her no credit for her strength. But looks can be deceiving and young girls and young women can now learn from her testimony
. God has given each of us a capacity, some call it tenacity, others call it mule-headedness, but in fact it is strength from Him to do all the things He would have us to do, whether male or female, young or old, expected or unexpected. Live a life without limitations and you will find that there are none, just ask Mary.
[1Th 5:16-18 NIV] 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
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