Mary Frances "Pinky" DeVane Snell Mary Frances "Pinky" DeVane Snell, devoted wife, mother and grandmother, passed away on November 14, 2012 in Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. Nicknamed Pinky by her father because of her size when she was born prematurely on December 3, 1927 in Mullins, SC, she was raised by her parents Jim and Belle DeVane, along with her older brother Jimmy in Fayetteville, NC. The DeVane household, like many during the Great Depression and WWII era, included a large extended family. Pinky grew up with her Aunt Nell Burkhead and Nell's daughters, Rachel and Ann, who were like sisters to her. Pinky graduated from Fayetteville High School in 1946 and from Women's College of the University of North Carolina in Greensboro with a degree in History in 1949. That summer, she met Tommy Snell, of Wilmington, NC, the love of her life, at Ocean Drive Beach, SC. They were married on June 16, 1951 at Hay Street United Methodist Church in Fayetteville, NC. She began her 35 year teaching career in 1949 as a 7th grade teacher at Alexander Graham Junior High School in Fayetteville, NC. Pinky strongly believed in educating all students and especially students with disabilities, whom she taught during the latter part of her career. She became a passionate advocate and pioneer for an inclusive educational environment for students with special needs. In addition to teaching, Pinky was a talented artist and a true southern cook who loved reading, sewing and collecting and drawing paper dolls. Most of all, Pinky was devoted to her family. She and Tommy raised their four daughters with abiding love, wisdom and humor. Her daughters, Mary Louise, Betsy, Nancy and Ann were blessed in the home she made for them that was filled with the smell of homemade biscuits, her sparkling humor and love of art, music and books. It was her warmth, personality and creative energy that made her home the center of activity for all of the children in her extended family and neighborhood. After the death of her beloved Tommy in 1993, Pinky moved to Washington, D.C. where she lived with family and continued to be a guiding presence and foundation in the life of her children and her 10 grandchildren, Mary Grace, Tom, Lizzie, Katherine, Phillip, Dickson, Mary Morgan, Emily, Duncan and Allie. Pinky made friends easily and she valued and cherished her friendships made from childhood through her last few years when she lived in a retirement community in Chevy Chase, MD. She was particularly close to her sons-in-law, Bruce, Sandy, Jim and David and counted them among her dearest friends. Pinky will be dearly missed by her family, friends and all who loved and knew her. A celebration of her life will be held at Wesley United Methodist Church in Washington D.C on Saturday, December 1 at 4:30 pm. Burial will be in Cross Creek Cemetery in Fayetteville NC at a later date to be determined. To honor Pinky, donations can be made to Residential Services, Inc. of NC, www.rsi-nc.org an organization providing group homes, employment and social inclusion for individuals with intellectual disabilities where her grandson Duncan resides; or to the Yellow Ribbon Fund, www.yellowribbonfund.org which provides practical support to injured service members and their families while they are at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center or Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, and after they return to their hometowns. A celebration of her life will be held at Wesley United Methodist Church in Washington D.C on Saturday, December 1 at 4:30 pm. Burial will be in Cross Creek Cemetery in Fayetteville NC at a later date to be determined.