Mary Ann Bernard

Mary Bernard ObituaryObituary published on Legacy.com by Cremation Society of the Carolinas & Capital Funeral Home - Raleigh on Mar. 17, 2026.Mary Ann Allsbrook Bernard, age 88, and the only child of the late Mary Lynette McLeod Allsbook and Leslie Theron Allsbrook, Jr., passed away peacefully in Durham, NC on March 14, 2026. As a youngster, due to her father serving in the Eighth Air Force, Mary Ann lived in Atlanta, GA; Houston, TX; Winfield, KS and Salt Lake City, UT. When the military transferred her father to Halesworth, a town in Suffolk, England, Mary Ann, with her mother, moved to her mother's hometown of Johnson City, TN.Mary Ann's love for animals began early in life. When she was a small child, family pets included dogs, cats, and a rabbit. While traveling at age eleven with her parents, she wrote postcards to her Aunt Helen and grandfather in Johnson City, TN to make sure her dog received plenty of loving attention, and, along with her cats, had plenty of food and water. As a teenager, Mary Ann took piano, dance and horseback riding lessons, and enjoyed spending time with horses. She also entered horseback riding competitions. Her love of the theater took hold during these years, with the Barter Theatre of Abington, VA only a short distance from her home in Johnson City.After high school, she attended Gulf Park College in Gulfport, MS, before completing her education at UNC-Chapel Hill (BA '59). While at Gulf Park, Mary Ann competed in golf, continued her horseback riding, and enjoyed the beautiful beaches of the Gulf Coast. She often spoke highly of the great times she had while attending UNC-Chapel Hill. Time with her Alpha Delta Pi sorority sisters, that included attending Carolina football games, and other social events, were among her happiest memories. Her devotion to Carolina Athletics and the Alumni Association were shown by her UNC automobile logos and bumper stickers (one read, "Honk if You're from Carolina, Moo if Y'all fum State"). After college, Mary Ann returned briefly to Atlanta, GA, where, as an education major, she taught early elementary school. After teaching for a couple of years, she moved to the Washington, DC area, where she also educated kids, got married, and had two children. Her devotion to animals continued with a family dog, a tank of tropical fish, and a willingness to feed strays and care for other people's pets.Mary Ann moved to Chapel Hill, NC, the town of her alma mater, with her two children after fifteen years of living in the Washington, DC area. Over the years, she attended both Carolina football and basketball games, and enjoyed long walks on campus, stopping to cheer for whatever athletic event was in progress. She thoroughly enjoyed the Carolina/Duke rivalry, often needling Duke alumni over the most recent Carolina victory.After moving to Chapel Hill, Mary Ann added cats to her household, starting with Sam, a calico who would hide under her bed and slap any foot that came within range. After having Sam for eight years, her next set of cats were Digit, an adopted stray, and Spooky, Digit's friend, who never quite learned to trust people enough to live indoors. At first Digit only came to Mary Ann's front porch if there was a bowl of food, and no people. But within a few months of loving attention, Digit adopted Mary Ann as her parent and by the time cold temperatures arrived, Digit became a household resident.Mary Ann continued her love of golf at Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill. While taking lessons and working on her game, she discovered a colony of feral cats, which for many years, she fed daily and found adopting homes for the kittens. One cat would lie behind a practice putting hole and eject the ball with its paw after a successful putt (often in front of an amazed audience). For many years, she cared for these animals, and several of the kittens became loving members of her household. Her gift of gab allowed her to persuade a local vet from the Four Paws clinic to not only provide rabies shots for these stray cats, but also to find homes for several stray kittens.Mary Ann enjoyed a life-long love for the musical and theatrical arts. She and her long-time friend Lucille "Lu" Fidler enjoyed road trips to see Broadway shows, Lincoln Center performances, and supported the local arts both in Raleigh and Chapel Hill. When her son moved to St. Paul, MN, she became a member of Minneapolis' Guthrie Theatre and often chose her visits around its calendar.A loving daughter and mother, Mary Ann oversaw her parents live to be 89 years old (Mary Allsbrook) and 103 (Les Allsbrook). She enjoyed visiting Dona in Greensboro, NC, where she attended to her gardens. Mary Ann made frequent trips to the Twin Cities to be with Bill, and his wife Rebecca. When Cooper, her only grandchild, was born, a stream of gifts was unleashed, as doting on Cooper brought her tremendous joy.In addition to frequenting Finley Golf Course and caring for strays, Mary Ann volunteered her time at CLAWS, Inc., a wildlife rescue center near Pittsboro, NC. She made regular donations to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the World Wildlife Fund. Bird feeders on her deck stayed full of birdseed and raccoons often had food waiting for them in the nearby woods.Mary Ann is survived by her son, William L. Bernard, his wife, Rebecca Ann, their son, Cooper A. Bernard, and her daughter, Dona A. Bernard. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to your local animal rescue organization or to CLAWS, Inc. at https://www.nc-claws.org/index.php/help-claws/needed in Mary Ann's memory.To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.