Mary Villar Becraft

Mary Villar Becraft passed away on October 6, 2017, at the Memphis Jewish Home and Rehab in Cordova, TN. Services will be held on Friday, October 13, 2017, at 2:00 pm at Tom M. Wages Funeral Services, 3705 US-78, Snellville, GA 30039. Interment will follow at White Chapel Memorial Gardens, Duluth, GA. The family will receive friends on Friday from 12:00 PM until 2:00 PM at the funeral home.She was born in New York, NY, on September 8, 1922, daughter of the late Jose and Manuela Fraga Villar. She graduated from Manual Training High School in Brooklyn, NY in 1940.On December 24, 1943, Mary married her childhood sweetheart John Forney Becraft, also of Brooklyn. They were married for 68 years until the time of his death in 2011. After high school Mary taught dance and worked as an executive secretary in NYC until she and her family moved to Atlanta, GA, in 1951. There she worked as an executive secretary for the vice president of the Trust Company of Georgia and received the Secretary of the Year Award for Dekalb County in 1964. While in this position she also became part of their newly formed Public Relations department. She also modeled clothes for the Ethan Allen Company. In 1971 Mary made a career change and became a real estate agent. She worked in this field for various companies and was saleswoman of the year in 1972.Mary retired from real estate in 1997, but became very involved in community service, primarily with the American Legion Auxiliary and the Elks Auxiliary. She loved producing, choreographing, and directing numerous plays and skits which were performed at local nursing homes.Mary and John met at Hanson Place Methodist Church in Brooklyn, NY, and were members of several Methodist churches in the Atlanta area throughout their lives. They joined Snellville Methodist Church after moving to Loganville, GA. in 2000.In 2012 Mary moved to Macon, GA, to an assisted living facility. In January 2017 she moved to a skilled nursing facility in Memphis, TN.She is predeceased by her brothers Alfred Villar and Joseph Villar and her grandson Joshua Manuel Becraft. She is survived by her daughter Katherine Vitale (Michael) of Macon, GA, and William Becraft (Nancy) of Memphis, TN; grandchildren, Jennifer and Melissa Vitale, Christina Becraft Denlinger (Chad), and Elizabeth, Jonathan, David and Anna Becraft.Mary was a lover of people and spent her life caring for, serving, and ministering to her family, friends and even strangers. Dancing and singing were her joys. Her family will dearly miss her smile, joy, love, and life.In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Elks Aidmore Children Center, 2394 Morrison Road Southwest, Conyers, GA 30094-3397.Condolences may be sent or viewed at www.wagesfuneralhome.com Tom M. Wages Funeral Service, LLC, “A Family Company”, Snellville Chapel 770-979-3200 has been entrusted with the arrangements.Read Obituary