Mary Fern Ford Bresenham
Two months shy of her 100th birthday, Mary Fern Ford Bresenham of Knoxville, TN passed away on November 14th at her home surrounded by family. Mary was a prolific artist, a lover of animals, and a student of the world. Mary was born on January 7, 1924, in St .Joseph, Missouri and moved to Oklahoma City and New Orleans with her family as a young girl. She graduated from the Mt Carmel Academy in New Orleans in 1942. Following her High School graduation, she got a job at Higgins Boat Company where she met her husband of 66 years, Elton Pearce Bresenham. They were married in New Orleans on Bastille Day, July 14, 1944. Together they traveled the world, having lived in Dallas, Texas; Old Tappan,New Jersey; Wassenaar, Netherlands; Abqaiq and Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; while working for the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO), and retiring to Beirut, Lebanon. Forced to leave during the Lebanese Civil War they settled in the Sequoia Hills neighborhood of Knoxville, Tennessee.
Mary was fascinated by art and archeology and was a strong proponent of higher education. She attended Texas Christian University and earned a Bachelor of Art in Archaeology, and in 1982 she received a Master of Art from the Department of History and Archaeology at the American University of Beirut. In 1985, Mary published her thesis covering her original study of the unique pottery created by the women from Bursa, Syria, a nearly lost art that Mary was passionate about chronicling for historical purposes. In 1992, she earned a Master of Science in Art Education from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Mary was known for her artistic talents and spent several summers in Italy studying oil painting. In 1987, Mary attended the Free School of Figurative Art in Florence, Italy with the painter Alberto Manfredi. Her work was shown in Florence in 1988.
Mary was a gifted seamstress, ceramist, and sculpturer. Mary exhibited and sold her work throughout eastern TN and on her website. Her studio, built by her husband, was a favorite place of hers and her grandkids.
After moving to Knoxville, Mary served on many committees and charities to support the arts and local history, including her work with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, the Ramsey House, and the Frank H. McClung Museum. As a member of Ossoli Circle, The Red Hat Society, and the Knoxville Garden Club Mary loved to host charity events and parties at her home on Cherokee Boulevard. True to her service nature, she has donated her body to the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
Mary is survived by her five children; daughters and sons-in-law, Vickie and Richard Teters of Johns Creek, GA, Georgia and Chuck Fisher of Charlotte, NC, Cathie and Gary Cody of Knoxville, TN, Cherrie and Mike McKitterick of Denver, CO, and son and daughter-in-law, Damon and Terri Bresenham of Murfreesboro, TN, along with her ten grandchildren (Michael, Jennifer, Todd, Cecilie, Brooke, Steve, Melissa, Grace, Dana and Savanna), six great grandchildren (Sean, Dylan, Haleé, Oliver, Lola, and Madeline), and one great-great grandson -- Colton.
She is preceded in death by her husband Elton, her parents Victoria Ayres and Harold Ford, and brother Jack.
Mary's family is eternally grateful for her passing along her love of art, history, and animals, as well as her grit and determination. They are exploring opportunities to showcase her artwork in Knoxville for a memorial in the near future.