Mary Oakes' Obituary
Mary Oakes was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, December 12, 1952, to William (Bill) Lipiczky and Annamae Hinkler. She had an older brother, William (Bill) and a younger sister, Stephanie.
Mary was in the Brownies and girl scouts. Mary loved their dog Snoopy, and enjoyed camping and being outside.
Once at scout camp where her brother was a camp counselor, she met a friend of his who was in the boy scouts, Jonathan (Rocky) Michael Oakes.
Rocky and Mary were married, they had two children, Jessica Marie and Michael Andrew Oakes.
Mary’s father Bill died in 1975, her mother Ann would go on to marry Milton (Bud) Norlie.
Rocky left after a couple years, after that Mary struggled for most of the children’s childhood. She made time to go to school and get her Nursing License (LPN). She worked hard to provide for her children. They moved around a lot, and ended up in West Virginia.
In 1988, Mary Oakes and family lost their home to fire, they lost everything they owned. Later that year on Christmas Eve while on her way to work, Mary was in a horrific vehicle accident that nearly took her life. While trapped in the car with serious injuries, and near death, her father-in-law, Bud, living in Pennsylvania several hundred miles away, had a sudden and massive heart attack, and died. Mary was taken to the hospital and pulled through. Mary believed Bud was given a choice, knowing how much he loved his family, she knows he took her place that night. With her new life she began a 6-month recovery process for her physical injuries. On the way she entered Alcoholics Anonymous and got clean. Nearly 25 years have passed since that decision, and she has chosen the higher path the entire time.
Many years later after settling in Woodbridge, Virginia, Jessica and Mary became active in the Church of the Brethren, they lived together for several years while Mary helped Jessica with her son Alexander. During this time, Isis Oakes and Minerva Mae Martinez were born.
Leukemia took Jessica when she was 34, Mary became the legal guardian of the three children at 54.
Michael married Teresa Lynn Hite and had five children, Melissa Ann, Travis Lee, Mark Alexander, Tracy Leeann and Michele Amber Oakes.
Michael and Teresa hit a hard patch, and eventually separated. Mary moved in to help look after (his four at the time), the children, as well as her three.
Mary brought her family into the Church of the Brethren in Fredericksburg soon thereafter.
In the spring of 2016, Mary was diagnosed with cancer with a short prognosis, Mary had aggressive treatments, and surpassed expectations. She was called home on Saturday, May 20, 2017.
A memorial gathering will be held on Thursday, May 25, 2017 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Found and Sons Funeral Chapel, 850 Sperryville Pike, Culpeper, VA.
Found and Sons Funeral Chapel of Culpeper is serving the family.
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