Mary Hassell Obituary

Mary Lou Hassell HENDERSONVILLE, NC - Mary Lou Hassell, 68, of Hendersonville, NC, wife of Thomas L Hudgin (Tom) died while on vacation in Malaysian Borneo on 5/14/18. Her memorial service will be held on 6/23/18 at 1:00 pm at First Scots Presbyterian Church in Charleston, SC. Born in Charleston, she was the daughter of T Fleetwood Hassell, MD, and the late Jane Hough Hassell. She graduated from Ashley Hall in 1968 and attended Limestone College and UNC-G. After starting with Reynolds Securities she achieved the position of vice-president of corporate bonds working for Merrill Lynch in Washington, DC and Boston. Following a move to CA she worked for AT&T, then later transferred with them to eastern TN, where she established Limestone Creek Llamas, a dream born of travel in S. America. She bred and showed them through the southeast region, hosted a fiber guild monthly, and opened a fiber store featuring workshops in Johnson City. Mary Lou had gifts for hospitality, cooking, and gathering people into community. She shared her enthusiasms for llamas, many animals, and travel with her husband, Tom, until she retired in 2016. Over the next year they closed down the farm and started a new chapter in their lives in Hendersonville, NC. Mary Lou was adventurous and lived her life with vitality, energy, strength, and passion. She loved exploring the world, pursuing many interests, her family, and friends. She celebrated milestones in her life by skydiving, hot air ballooning, scuba diving, hiking to Machu Picchu, and just two years ago hang gliding with Tom at Mont Blanc in the French Alps. She believed in using all the gifts that God had given her to the fullest. She is survived by her husband, Tom, in Hendersonville, NC; her father, T Fleetwood Hassell, MD, in Charleston; five sisters, Rebecca Hassell of Mt Pleasant, SC, Ansley Boggs of Spartanburg, SC, Sarah Hassell, MD, of Nashville, TN, Jane Hassell (Ben Ortega) of Fairfax, VA, and Ellen Goodwin (Richard) of Greenville, SC; five nieces and nephews, Jordan Ilderton (Adam), Zan Farr (Jay), Thomas Ortega, and Jane and Gordon Goodwin; three grandnieces, Fleetwood and Marie Ilderton, and Lilian Farr; cousin, Jennine Hough of Asheville, NC; Charleston cousins and their families; a stepdaughter, Tamara Landre (Mike McDaniel) of Napa, CA, and step granddaughter, Jessica Wood, of Modesto, CA, both from a previous marriage. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Southeast Llama Rescue (SELR). Visit our guestbook at www.legacy.com/obituaries/ charleston