Following her recurring battle with cancer, Anna May Scott Mayo Rawls peacefully passed away from this life on Friday, June 28, 2024, in Ft Worth, Texas with family by her side. She had just completed 94 years on earth, born on a farm at Sanger, Texas on May 30, 1930, to Henrietta Wood and Reuben Leroy Scott. Anna was an only child, and her mother died when Anna was 10, so she was raised primarily by her loving grandmother Minnie (Lewter) Wood. Alonzo Oliver Wood was Anna’s grandfather, namesake of his uncle Alonzo P. Gordon, a Granbury merchant, legislator, teacher, and builder of the venerable house off Granbury’s square. Anna graduated from Sanger High School in 1947 and North Texas State College, now the University of North Texas, in 1950. She obtained a Master’s degree in Education from Sul Ross State University.

Anna met her husband Robert Vermon Mayo on a double date with her North Texas State roommate and Robert’s roommate from Texas A&M. Anna and Robert were married March 22, 1951. Anna and Robert lived in many towns across Texas where Anna taught school, ultimately moving to Ft. Stockton in 1964 where they raised their 3 children, Bobby, Eric and Margaret.

Anna was a middle school teacher for 22 years in Ft. Stockton and over the years taught history, social studies, English learning students and gift and talented students. She cared for her husband, Robert, for many years during his long battle with cancer until his death in 1985. Anna subsequently retired from teaching in 1988 and, in 1995 married William Wayne “Bill” Rawls, a family friend from the First United Methodist Church in Ft. Stockton. Anna and Bill lived in El Paso, Texas and Kingman, Arizona before retiring to Christoval, Texas and building their home on Bill’s family place, with his wonderful clan close by, and pouring themselves into Christoval United Methodist Church activities and the Christoval and San Angelo communities. Bill predeceased Anna in January 2023.

Anna was an awardwinning artist in oils and watercolors and exhibited her works in Ft. Stockton, Odessa and San Angelo. She was also an award-winning quilter and learned the art from her mother, Henrietta and her grandmother Minnie while growing up on the farm in Sanger. In the weeks before she passed, Anna documented memories of her early life and recalled that, as a young girl, her “job” during quilting was to sit in the middle of the layers of cotton and fabric while it was being smoothed and readied for the final, laborious hand quilting process. Anna continued to sketch and paint until the last few months of her life. She indulged her interest in art, history and other cultures during her retired years with travel that took her to the former Soviet Union, the Bahamas, Mexico City, Alaska, Hawaii, London and too many U.S. states to mention. She often journeyed with her retired Ft. Stockton school teacher chums including Dean Deerfield, Ann Skylstad, Betty Coker, Esther Lannom, Sammie Pfiester, Jeannie Shackelford and Carol Brown. She recalled these trips frequently and cherished the memories in her later years of life with great fondness for these lifelong friendships, and a glint in her eye of secrets known only to them. Scrabble was another beloved pastime for Anna, and it was a challenge for the family to best her. They rarely did.

Anna loved all things Texas and most especially the abundance of Texas wildflowers every Spring with Bluebonnets, Indian Paintbrush and sunflowers being her favorites. She was a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan and one of her dreams was to attend a Dallas Cowboys football game. Her family gifted her with tickets to a Dallas v. Seattle game this past November which she attended with Margaret and her grandson Matthew. Anna touched and was always concerned with everyone she met. As they were exiting the game, Margaret and Matthew were faced with a long walk to a wheelchair ramp through the crowd. A group of Cowboys fans recognized their dilemma and just lifted Anna’s chair and carried her down the steps. She was extremely grateful for their help while concerned that these 4 big strong guys would hurt themselves carrying her down a flight of 6 steps.

Anna had deep Texas roots with ancestors in Texas before it became a state in 1845. She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and was consequently fascinated with what genealogy could tell us.

Anna is survived by her 3 children, Bobby Mayo, Eric Mayo and Margaret Mayo and grandson, Matthew Schiller; 3 stepchildren, Cindy Rawls Chapman (Jim), Nora Rawls, and Billie Rawls Hill (Larry) 9 step-grandchildren and 14 step great grandchildren. Anna is also survived by her dear sisterin- law, Linda Mayo Nix (Garry), niece April Mayo Odom (Derrick), cousin Jimmie Sills Kinsfather and numerous extended family all who will miss her greatly.

The family wishes to thank Anna and Bill’s Christoval neighbor, Barbara Madrid, for her unwavering friendship over the years. Anna’s superb caregivers from Carelinx, HomeWatch Caregivers, Discovery Villages/ Alliance Assisted Living and EveryCare Hospice helped to ease her final months and days and our gratitude to them can never be repaid.

Anna’s expressed wishes were for no service, and her ashes to be scattered at the Sanger farm where she grew up, with inurnment in seasonable weather at the Mayo plot in Tolar, Texas.

Please make any remembrances to one of the following organizations that Anna volunteered for throughout her life, American Cancer Society, Meals on Wheels, Women’s Chamber of Commerce, Women’s Society of the United Methodist Church, or the charity of your choosing.

To her children and grandson, her step-grandchildren and step-great grandchildren, the family members and friends whom she mentored as they became teachers, and most especially, the 2,000-3,000 pupils she taught across the state, Anna leaves a legacy of Texas grit - never, never, never, ever give up.

With love, Bob, Eric, Margaret and Matthew