Mary Louise Brooks (Maisie) Stanley

Mary Louise (Maisie) Stanley, 95, of Enterprise passed away on Thursday, June 6, 2019, in her home.   Mary Louise Brooks was born in Centreville, Mississippi on November 18, 1923 to Pauline James and Eddie Reace Brooks, the seventh of eight children born to that union.   She was preceded in death by her husband of 42 years, James Franklin Stanley, M.D., her parents, her brothers Aaron “Mutt,” James “Todd” Edwin, William “Dub” Charles, and Eddie Reese; her sisters Mary Ellen and Pauline “Polly;” and her half-sisters Jane Margaret Messer and William Bartlett “Bea” Messer, Jr.   Mary Louise grew up in Centreville and attended public schools there. She became a registered nurse, training at Southern Baptist Hospital in New Orleans, graduating in 1945. While in school, she met Jim Stanley who earned his M.D. from Tulane in 1945. They married on 1 November 1946 in Columbia, Mississippi.   After marriage, Mary Louise put her nursing skills to great use in her husband’s medical practice where she also served as office manager for years. She put those skills to even greater use in raising her three sons.   A resident of Enterprise for seventy years, Mary Louise took an active role in the civic life of the community. She served for many years as a volunteer at the Enterprise Welcome Center and at the Pea River Genealogical and Historical Society. Mary Louise and her husband were strong, active supporters of the Boy Scouts. She served as a Cub Scout den mother to her sons, each of whom later earned the rank of Eagle. One could often find Mary Louise working in her garden or enjoying the hummingbirds and songbirds visiting her yard. Known for her beautiful flowers, she was ready and willing to dispense gardening advice to those who requested it. For transportation in recent years, many of her less mobile, younger friends came to depend upon Mary Louise.   Raised a Methodist, she worshipped with her family at First Baptist Enterprise since the early 1950s. For the past thirty years she continued in Sunday School at First Baptist while attending worship services at First Methodist.   Mary Louise is survived by her three sons James Franklin Stanley, Jr., of Enterprise; Harold Watkins Stanley (Carolyn) of Dallas, Texas; and John Brooks Stanley (Deborah) of Chesapeake, Virginia; two grandchildren Margaret Louise Stanley and Duncan Gelineau Stanley (Maddie). Survivors also include her sister Dorothy Lea “Dot” Clark of Lake Rosemound, Louisiana, her nephew William Watkins Stanley, her niece Marion Stanley of Enterprise, as well as several other nieces and nephews.   A graveside service for Mary Louise will be held at Meadowlawn Cemetery on Monday, June 10, 2019 at 10:00 A.M. with Rev. Billy Luttrell officiating.   In lieu of flowers the family requests contributions to a charity of the donor’s choice. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Mary Louise Brooks (Maisie) Stanley, please visit our flower store.