Mary Estelle Bushawn

March 20, 1928 - July 3, 2021

Mary Estelle Bushawn, 93, of Gulf Shores, AL, passed away on Saturday, July 3, 2021. Born on March 20, 1928, in Louisiana, MO, she was the daughter of the late John and Ruby Irene Creamer. She was preceded in death by her husbands, Eugene Thomas and later, Charles Bushawn. Mary attended Louisiana High School and won numerous awards for both academics and singing. An alumna of the University of Iowa with a degree in Commerce, she soon met Gene Thomas, a minor league ballplayer in the White Sox organization and married in 1949. Leading the Gypsy life of a minor leaguer, they lived in numerous locations until he retired from baseball in 1955. Then they settled in Brentwood in suburban St. Louis, where they lived until his untimely death in 1971. At this point, she decided to pursue the career she had forsaken and went to work in accounting. A wizard at numbers, she progressed in her career until eventually becoming the director of accounting and assistant to the CFO of a national company until her retirement in 1998. Upon the death of her second husband, Charles Bushawn, in 2001, she decided she was due for a change. At that time she moved to Weston, FL to be nearer to family. There she resumed her love of both numbers and bridge, joining several bridge clubs. Traveling to bridge tournaments all across south Florida, she achieved the title of Ruby Life Master from the American Contract Bridge League. Throughout her life she was an avid horse lover, having started riding at a very early age, rode to school during her high school days, and continued to ride up into her sixties. She is survived by her two sons, Steve (Susan) Thomas of Gulf Shores, AL and Brett (Connie) Thomas of Weston, FL, four grandchildren, Patrick of Houston, TX, Bart (Shelley) of Memphis, TN, Amy, and Derek Thomas of Ft. Lauderdale, FL and great-grandchildren Alana, Logan and Shayleigh of Houston, TX and Ava, Mia, Stella and Vera of Memphis, TN. A memorial reception will be held at Seagrass Village in Gulf Shores where she currently lived and a private family graveside service also will be held later in Louisiana, MO. Remembrances in her name can be made to the ASPCA or to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.