6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. II Corinthians 5:6-8 (KJV)
Mrs. Mary K. Oden was born in Talladega, Alabama and reared in the city of Birmingham, Alabama where she met and united in holy matrimony to the late Howard W. Oden, Sr. To this union seven children were born.
Mary was affectionately known as “Big Mommy” to her family and friends, she was a member of the New Hope Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama until she moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with her husband Howard,Sr.
In 1992, Mary became a member of The Christlike Pleasant Green Faith Baptist Church under the pastor ship of the late Reverend Robert Smalls, where she faithfully served as a member of the Senior Usher Board, greeting members, family and friends with her pleasant smile and spirit, until her health no longer allowed her to serve in that capacity.
She worked in the Philadelphia School District for many years. When she retired from the School District, Mary and her husband Howard, Sr. opened up their own family business.
Big Mommy leaves to cherish fond memories of her; Howard, Jr. (Patricia); Otis, Philip, Mary Lucille, Michael (deceased), June and Patrick. Eleven grandchildren, Kobra, Chenell, Rashied, Michelle, Kisha, Michael B., Tyshieka, Dominique, Summer, Michael O., and Leeah, numerous great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren, nephews, nieces, along with a host of relatives and friends.
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