Mary Sigtenhorst
February 24th, 1926 – July 2nd, 2024
Mary Louise Sigtenhorst, aged 98, passed away July 2, 2024, following a brief illness. The funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m., Monday, July 8, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, in Waco, with the Reverend Samantha Smith officiating and interment will follow at Oakwood Cemetery. There will be a visitation held from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m., Sunday, July 7, at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Funeral Home.
After her birth on February 24th, 1926, in Port Arthur, Texas, Mary Louise did not wait long to begin a life of myriad accomplishments, beginning with her graduation from high school at the age of only sixteen. She followed her high school diploma with a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from UT Austin in 1946 and a master’s degree in biology from the University of Houston in 1950. Her storied career in microbiology included teaching in academic institutions across Texas and Louisiana, authoring and co-authoring a number of academic papers in the field of bacteriology, and heading the microbiology departments at both Providence and Hillcrest hospitals in Waco. Though her love for her scientific career was undeniable, her true joy was her family, which eventually grew to include a husband and four sons just as loud, funny, and intelligent as she. Mary Louise was a respected scientist, devoted wife and mother, beloved grandmother, dedicated member of her church’s leadership, accomplished gardener, talented nature photographer, avid sports fan, scathing satirist, unintentional comedienne, and the most intimidating and interesting character any of us have ever met. She will be missed by everybody who ever met her, though the voice of reason in our heads sounds suspiciously like her southern drawl.
She was preceded in death by her parents, George Bryan, and Mary Della Beene; and her husband of twenty-five years, Andries van den Sigtenhorst, M.D.
She is survived by her sister, Georgeann Andrus; her four sons, Andries Sigtenhorst and his partner Dana Matthews; Karel Willem Hendrik Sigtenhorst, his wife Karen and daughter Madeleine; Pieter Sigtenhorst, his wife Kathleen, their daughter Petra and stepson Christopher Bruner; and Dr. Georg Dirk Sigtenhorst, his wife Sharon and their daughter Alex. Mary is also survived by a vast extended family of cousins, nieces, nephews, and more.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Waco, The Mayborn Museum in Waco, or the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
The family invites you to leave a message or memory of Mary on her “Tribute Wall” at www.WHBfamily.com
VIEW ORIGINAL: https://www.whbfamily.com/obituaries/Mary-Louise-Sigtenhorst?obId=32225543#/obituaryInfo
Copyright 2023 KWTX. All rights reserved.
