Mary Ann Neal Irby

Mary Ann Neal Irby, age 81, wife of Colonel (US Army Ret) Richard Logan Irby, Jr., of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, died April 27, 2024. 

Mary Ann, the daughter of the late Herbert Neal and the late Ann Elizabeth Peebles Neal, was born on October 24, 1942 in Richmond, Virginia. She graduated from Virginia Intermont College, where she was a member of Phi Beta, a professional music fraternity and Longwood College where she was a member of Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority.

Mary Ann, a dedicated Army wife, served beside her husband for 30 years in the Army and spent 14 of those years overseas in Germany, Okinawa, and Korea. When they retired and returned to Mount Pleasant, SC, she became "mother" to many cadets at The Citadel, under the sponsor program.

She has one son, Douglas Cooper Embry of Austin, Texas. He has two children Alek Collins Embry and Mallory Charters Embry. She is the mother of two loving daughters, Sarah Elizabeth Irby of Mount Pleasant, SC and Mary Katherine Irby Klepchick of Alpharetta, GA. The joy of her life were her grandchildren, Tyler Joseph Stasky (Sarah Reed Stasky), Abigail Logan Stasky, Alexandra Caroline Stasky DuPree (Christopher DuPree), Landon Neal Miller, Addison Elizabeth Miller, Davis Matthew Klepchick and McKenna Elizabeth Klepchick; and her three great-granddaughters, Emerson Marie Stasky, Margaret Ann Stasky, and Caroline June DuPree.

Mrs. Irby was very proud of her heritage. She was a member of the National Society of Colonial Dames of America, the Daughters of the American Revolution, Descendent of the Mayflower Society and the Alden Kindred. She was the 9th generation granddaughter of John Alden and Priscilla Mullins and the 5th generation granddaughter of John and Abigail Adams. She proudly taught her children and grandchildren the importance of their heritage.

A private family burial will be held in Magnolia Cemetery at a later date.