Obituary of Mary Jean Hamilton

Mary Jean Hamilton, age 58, was born in Harrisonville, Missouri on March 26, 1963, and passed away on December 21, 2021, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Mary was known as a very generous person always seeing a need and meeting it. Many family members and strangers alike have benefitted from Mary’s unending generosity. She spent over 20 years working in adult foster care and most recently in the care of Jason Oates and Greg DeShae. Mary had the greatest sense of humor and never met a stranger. Everyone always felt loved and cared for in her presence. Her granddaughters especially remember her as being the fun one. One granddaughter said, “Meme was like a kid in an adult body.” Mary was always playing games and finding fun things for the kids. Mary’s faith in God was a sustaining force in her life. Through many of life’s challenging times, Mary never wavered in her strong faith in Jesus Christ. Mary would want us all to take comfort in knowing that she is with Jesus in her heavenly home. Mary and her first husband, Jeff Rich, had three daughters and three grandchildren. Mary is survived by her daughter, Jessi Cochran and Josh Cochran and their girls Addy and Cadence; Lydia McSwain and her husband JaMarcus; granddaughter, Aubrianna Phillips; sisters Dana Hawkins, LeAnn Williams, and Karen Cooley; aunt Lois Robinson, and many nieces and nephews. Mary is preceded in death by her brothers, Randy and Craig Cooley, her mother Norma Jean Cooley, her father, Arch Daniel Cooley, and her beloved daughter, Erica Rich. Memorial Mass will be held at Saint Rose of Lima Catholic Church, 1601 N Tennessee Blvd., Murfreesboro, TN, on Wednesday, December 29, 2021 at 12:00 pm. Visitation will be held 11:00 am until service time at 12:00pm. Interment to follow at Miller Cemetery, Christiana, Tennessee