Mary Christopher was a country girl from Talledaga when she decided to follow her older sister’s example and go to New Orleans to study nursing at the Mather School and then enlist to serve her country during WWII. It was an adventurous step that her three sons say was completely in keeping with her indomitable spirit.

Christopher, who would have turned 98 in May, died Monday, April 6, at Slidell Memorial Hospital from coronavirus. Her family was able to have one final conversation with her days before on Zoom, an hour-long chat during which she was awake and was able to hear one of her granddaughters announce her engagement.

Christopher appears to be one of the oldest patients to have died from COVID-19 in St. Tammany Parish. As of Thursday, the state Department of Hospitals reported 19 deaths in St. Tammany Parish and 777 diagnosed cases, the fifth highest number in the state.

Christopher, who lived at Summerfield Senior Living in Slidell, served in the 134th Evacuation Hospital, taking care of soldiers in France, Belgium and Germany. She was promoted to 1st lieutenant and chief nurse in July of 1945.

10 Alabamians killed by COVID-19

She didn't talk about her war time experiences until recent years, her sons said, although they recall as children playing with German swords that some of her patients had given her as souvenirs.

Her middle son, Joe Christopher, who also lives in Slidell, said that he last took her to the World War II Museum in New Orleans on D-Day, where she sported a hat that said WWII veteran. "They just treated her so special, like a queen."

Her close-knit family felt the same way about her. "I've never known anyone so dearly and deeply loved," her daughter-in-law, also named Mary Christopher, said. "She was one of the last breed of givers."

Christopher continued to work as a nurse, in private service and at Baptist and Methodist hospitals, until her husband, Joe Frank Christopher, retired in the mid-1970s from his job with the state Department of Agriculture.

She moved to Slidell in the early 1990s, after her husband's death, and worked as a volunteer at North Shore Hospital for years, her sons said. She was also an avid bowler, a sport she continued until last summer, Joe Christopher said. Well into her 90s, she bowled an over 200 game. "She was bragging about that to everybody," he said.

A voracious reader, she had just given her eldest son, Barrett Christoper, a couple of books to read, including one about the American Revolution. "She liked mysteries, but she was an eclectic reader," he said.

A huge Saints fan, she watched the games with Joe every week. "It will break my heart the next time they play," he said.

One thing she taught her sons was to keep moving, Joe Christopher said, and her family believes that's one reason for her longevity. "She was the last one to leave any event, always," her daughter-in-law said. "You never saw her sit down."

She overcame a stroke three years ago, and 10 years ago recovered from a broken hip she suffered while diving for a ball during a ping-pong game with her grandson. "The doctor said that would probably be the end of her," Barrett Christopher said. But she bounced back, and while she was told to use a walker, she carried it in front of her instead.

She was very close to her grandchildren, most of whom called her Gram, until Barrett Christopher's daughter saw a Rambo movie. "Gram is tougher than that guy," she told her father. "I'm going to call her 'Grambo.'" The name stuck.

Her son Joe was able to see her twice after she was moved to hospice care, the first time to set up an iPad. She was wearing a bilevel positive airway pressure mask, which made it hard to communicate. But when she saw her son in protective gear, she asked, "Do I have the virus?"

"They hadn't told her. I told her 'yes.' She was well aware of what was going on. It was very poignant," Joe Christopher said.

Born in 1922, Mary Christopher had heard family stories of loved ones lost in the Spanish flu epidemic years earlier, including an uncle who lost his wife and children to the pandemic. "It's kind of ironic, she was born just after that, and lived all these years until now," Frank Christopher said.

"She was strong," Joe Christopher said. "If not for this virus, I think she probably would have made 100 — that was a goal."

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