Mary Austin

Obituary For Mary Austin

On Friday, December 12, 2025, a beloved Mother, Sister, Aunt, Cousin, Mother-in-Law, and Friend to many, Mary Louise Austin, entered into eternal rest. The world changed forever that day for those who loved and cherished her.

Mary was born at Harrisburg Hospital in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to the late Mable (Fields) and Thearchy Austin. She was raised in the small town of Steelton, Pennsylvania which sits next door to Harrisburg, along the banks of the Susquehanna River. She grew up in the West Side neighborhood where she was nurtured, shaped, and covered with love, laughter, customs, and community.

Much of Mary’s family also lived on the West Side. She spent hours over the years regaling her daughter with stories of the experiences she had growing up in this working class but strong and loving community of families.

Mary attended church and was baptized at the historic Monumental A.M.E. Church in Steelton. It is here where she began her relationship with the Lord. Mary would later attend Bethany A.M.E. Church and Lingo Memorial Church of God in Christ, both in Harrisburg, until she moved to Maryland, where she attended Brown Memorial A.M.E. Church, which was her daughter’s church home in Washington, D.C.

Mary attended the Hygienic School in Steelton, which was a segregated school for Black children. She often spoke of the influential and strong teachers who taught her during those years. These stories no doubt influenced her daughter, who became a civil rights attorney. Mary later attended and graduated from the Steelton-Highspire High School.

After high school, Mary held several retail jobs, including at one of the local “five and dime” stores, and as a cashier at the ACME grocery store, which she joked was not the best fit for her temperament. She eventually secured what was considered “a good State job,” working for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. She spent almost thirty years with the Commonwealth, serving as a key-punch operator early in her tenure, and retiring in 1999 as a tax examiner for the Department of Revenue.

In 1967, Mary gave birth to her only child, her daughter Nicole. Mary was an amazing mother! She gave her daughter the best of everything that was within her reach. This was no easy feat since Mary was a single mother.

Mary and Nicole became a dynamic duo. They were more than mother and daughter. They were best friends, confidantes, and each other’s number one supporter. Mary worked to ensure that whatever dreams Nicole had for herself, she could achieve. She never told Nicole that her dreams were unreachable; rather she focused on how she could make those things a reality for her “baby”!

Mary’s devotion and love extended beyond what she gave to her daughter. She was deeply committed to everyone in her family. She was the sister who could be counted on to offer advice and a good meal all in the same sitting. She learned to cook at her mother Mable’s side (she came from a true cooking family!), and she was generous in spreading the kind of love that comes from opening one’s heart and kitchen. She was a devoted aunt, affectionately known by her nieces and nephews as “Aunt Mim.” She treated her grand nieces and nephews like her own grandchildren. She doted on them, spoiled them, and took pride in them.

Mary’s personality was one marked by a sharp wit that belied her calm exterior. She had a way of saying things bluntly and truthfully. Family gatherings were often spent reminiscing, recalling, and laughing at the things “Aunt Mim” said over the years.

Despite her sharp wit, Mary touched many with her kindness and openness. She was a second mother to many of Nicole’s friends, and she was a kind neighbor who gave sweets and treats to the kids who lived next door. If she loved you, you knew it.

Although Mary’s later life was hampered by health conditions that made it difficult for her to maintain the independence she so fiercely cherished, she continued to demonstrate the strength and courage that made her an amazing woman. She enjoyed her retirement years and spent the last decade of her life living with, and being cared for by, her devoted daughter and her son-in-law. While she always called Harrisburg home, and visited often, she became a familiar and warm presence in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, and the larger Washington, D.C. community.

Mary’s was a life well-lived, not only for who she was, but for how she touched and shaped the lives of others. She will be sorely missed.

In addition to her parents, Mary was preceded in death by her brother, Percell “Cook” Austin and is survived by her daughter, Nicole Austin-Hillery; her Son-in-Law, Alexander Hillery, II; her sister, Betty (Austin) Jean Floyd (William); her Brother, Robert Lee Austin; her step-granddaughter, Kinshasa Hillery; her step-great granddaughter, Simone Christian; her nieces, Deborah (Wilkerson) Freeman, Natalie (Austin) Cooper (Rory), Sue Lynn (Floyd) Pierce (Charles), Stacy Lynette Floyd and Angela Marie (Austin) Finney (Jeff); her nephews, Thomas Wilkerson (Stephanie) and Ryan Austin; their respective families and a host of other family and friends.

Her life will be celebrated with a Memorial Service on Saturday, December 27, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. in Brown Memorial A.M. E. Church 130 14th Street, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20002.

Further services will be held on Saturday, January 3, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. in Bethany A.M.E. Church, 912 S. 21st Street, Harrisburg with viewing and visitation from 10:00 until 11:00 a.m. and burial in William Howard Day Cemetery.