Mary Ann Flickinger, 75, passed away on Feb. 10, 2017, in Aiken, S.C. Born on March 19, 1941, in Wilmington, Del., she was the daughter of Clarence MacNeal Jr. and Mary Elizabeth Griffith. After age 6, when her mother remarried, she was raised by her stepfather, William Scott Roberts, and Mary Roberts in Sudlersville, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
Flickinger was active in Girl Scouts and worked at Camp Fairlee-Manor for developmentally challenged children. She attended St. Mary’s Seminary Junior College and graduated from Towson State University in 1962 with a teaching degree.
After marrying Clarence David “Dave” Flickinger and settling in Eldersburg, Md., and then Edgewater, Md., she raised a family in Southdown Shores while staying actively involved in community service, including the Lions Club, the American Heart Association, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts.
She returned to teaching in the early 1980s as an early-childhood education teacher and eventually started the Cape Kid’s Corner daycare center in the Cape St. Claire United Methodist Church. “Miss Mary Ann” and her staff guided hundreds of children through their preschool and middle school years in her 15-plus years of service.
The Flickingers loved Bethany Beach, Del., where they had a vacation home and Dave volunteered for many years with the Fourth of July Parade. They retired to Bethany in 2001, where they were actively involved in the Salt Pond Community, the Beach & Bay Cottage Tour for the South Coastal Library, the Embroiderers Guild of America and Mariner’s Bethel United Methodist Church. In 2013, they moved to Aiken, S.C., for health reasons.
Flickinger was gifted as a seamstress and in the needle arts, with a special talent for embroidery work. She enjoyed travelling, reading, puzzles and beautiful music. Family was very important to her, and she was immensely proud of her children and grandchildren. She lived life with fierce determination, despite many debilitating health issues.
In addition to her husband of nearly 55 years, Dave Flickinger, she is survived by a son, David Scott Flickinger and his wife, Janelle Janssen, of Aiken, S.C.; a daughter, Mollie Rose McCormick and her husband, Joseph Patrick McCormick, on the family farm in Mount Airy, Md.; and four grandchildren, Brooks Janssen-Flickinger, Abby Janssen-Flickinger, Brendan Patrick McCormick and Eilís Rose McCormick.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, June 3, 2017, at 10 a.m. at the Calvary United Methodist Church, 403 South Main Street, Mt. Airy, Md. All are welcome. For more information or to RSVP, contact Mollie McCormick at mmccormick@bytesnwords.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Zaching Against Cancer at www.zachingagainstcancer.org.