Mary Dean Stokes

August 16, 2026

Mary Dean Stokes, 96, of Cantonment, Florida, went home to be with the Lord on August 11, 2026.

She was born in Sterrett, Alabama, on May 12, 1930 to Gordie and Pearl Hartsfield. She married James Melvin Stokes, Jr., and their love story lasted 48 years until his passing. Mary had a 30-year career with Chemstrand-Monsanto as a draw twist operator. She was a faithful member of Smyrna Baptist Church, growing in grace with her church community. Her hobbies were cooking and gardening, growing a beautiful array of both flowers and vegetables.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, Gordie and Pearl Hartsfield; husband, J. R. Stokes; daughter, Connie Stokes Reynolds; and sisters, Gordalee Gill, Erma Jean Wallis, Billie Earle Brasher, Verina Anne Ball; and brother, Harold L. Hartsfield.

She is survived by her sister, Sara Nell Weldon; daughter, Suzanne Stokes; grandchildren, Holly DeAnn Reynolds, Heather Lane (John) Nicholls; son-in-law, Ronnie Reynolds; great-grandchildren, Zoey DeAnn Milstead, Zachary Michael Milstead, Connie Noel Nicholls, Houston Grey Nicholls; and many special nieces and nephews.

Serving the family as pallbearers will be Ronnie Reynolds, Rusty Burrell, Derek Weldon, John Nicholls, Drew Weldon, Zachary Milstead, and Houston Nicholls.

A funeral service will be held at Smyrna Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida, on Tuesday, August 18, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. Family and friends are invited to visit with the family at the church from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Mary will be dearly remembered by the friends and family that she cared for so much.

Comments





Have a comment on this story?

We welcome your comments on this story, but there are some rules to follow::

(1) Be Nice. No comments that slander another, no racism, no sexism, no personal attacks.

(2) No Harrassing Comments. If someone says something bad about you, don't respond. That's childish.

(3) No Libel. That's saying something is not true about someone. Don't do it.

(4) Keep it clean. Nothing vulgar, obscene or sexually related. No profanity or obvious substitutions. Period.

(5) NorthEscambia.com reserves the right to remove any comments that violate our rules or we think to be inappropriate. We are not responsible for what is posted. Comments may not appear right away until they are approved by a moderator.

(6) Limit your comments to the subject in this story only, and limit comments to 300 words or less. Do not post copyrighted material. Comments will not be added to stories that are over 30 days old.

(7) No posts may advertise a commercial business, political candidate or political group, or link to another commercial web site or political site of any kind.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under Obituaries