Mary Ann Fauler

Mary Ann Fauler, age 87, of Columbia, Tennessee, passed away on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at Maury Regional Medical Center.

Born on November 17, 1938, in Lowville, New York, Mary Ann was the daughter of the late Edward Joseph Fauler and the late Harriet Marie Van Dyke Fauler. Her father was a professor of agriculture who helped establish farming programs in the Middle East, and as a young woman Mary Ann spent a year and a half at the American University School in Beirut. In the 1950s she became one of the nation’s first cytotechnologists, training under the inventor of the Pap smear. She devoted many years to her profession at PCA Southeast, now known as OPUS Pathology, in Columbia before retiring.

Mary Ann lived with a quiet zest for life. She cherished travel, especially through Europe, and held deep affection for Buffalo, New York, and Muscle Shoals, Alabama. She spent much of her adult life south of the Mason-Dixon line in Muscle Shoals and Lexington, Kentucky. An avid Alabama football and Buffalo Bills fan, she also possessed a gentle spirit that drew animals and children to her naturally. Small in stature but strong and resilient, she was known for her profound kindness, generosity, and a heart of gold. Above all, she loved the Lord and lived her Christian faith with quiet devotion.

She is survived by her son, Stephen Fauler (Brigette Hines), stepdaughter, Brianna Hines, sister, Kathleen Freeman (John MacKerron), niece, Lynne (John) Seaburg, great-niece, Nicole (Chris) Letourneau, great-nephew, Ryan Seaburg, great-great-nieces and nephews Aubrey, Ryleigh, Sawyer, and Kason, and special friends Joe and Minnie Moore and their family. She was preceded in death by her great-nephew, Jake Seaburg, in addition to her parents.