Mary Joan Houchin McCleskey

August 26, 1952 - April 25, 2019

Mrs. Mary Joan McCleskey, 66, passed away Thursday, April 25, 2019, at Tucker Hospice House in Kannapolis. A funeral service is scheduled for 11:00 am Saturday, April 27, 2019, at Lady's Funeral Home Chapel. Rev. Nelson Wright will officiate. Interment will follow at West Lawn Memorial Park in China Grove. The family will receive friends from 10 to 10:45 am Saturday at Lady's Funeral Home. Mrs. McCleskey was born August 26, 1952, in San Diego, California. She was one of seven children born to the late James Houchin and Grace Williams Houchin. Her family lived in Wright City, OK prior to moving to NC, where she worked in healthcare and retail sales until her retirement. Mary was a beloved wife and mother, and a friend to all. She always took in everyone who needed help regardless of whether she had resources to give. She lived her life to help others and always did her best to do so. She loved going to church and always put God first in her life and then her family. She believed that putting God first would allow everything else to fall into place. Her favorite place in church was in the choir. She loved singing with her church friends and really enjoyed singing on Sunday nights. She spent most of her free time playing with her three dogs, doing puzzles, and going to the YMCA. She very much enjoyed spending time with her kids, grandkids, family and friends. She left us way too soon but she very much lived a life full of love from everyone around her. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Herbert Allen McCleskey; two brothers, James and Robert Houchin; three sisters, Geneva Smith, Helena Coppock and Carol Willis. Mrs. McCleskey is survived by her daughter, LaRonda McCleskey Cothern (wife Jennifer) of Gastonia; son, Marvin Barker (wife Pamela) of Oklahoma City, Okla; five grandchildren, Daquelia Conder (husband Matt), Amy Smith, Nikki Barker, Phoenix Nealy, and MJ Barker; one great granddaughter, Mia; and one sister, Lorraine Smith of Humansville, Mo.