Futrell, Mary Hatwood.

Mary Alice Franklin Hatwood Futrell was born on May 24, 1940, in Altavista, Virginia; her mother was a domestic and factory worker and her father worked in construction. Futrell was raised in a single parent household and did not develop a relationship with her father until she was an adult. In 1958, Futrell earned her high school diploma from Dunbar High School in Lynchburg, Virginia, where she was a cheerleader, and a member of student government, Future Business Leaders of America and the National Honor Society.

In 1962, Futrell received her degree in business education from Virginia State University where she was a cheerleader and pledged Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. From 1962 until 1964, Futrell worked as a teacher at the segregated Parker Gray High School in Alexandria, Virginia. In 1965, Futrell helped integrate the teaching staff at George Washington High School, where she taught business until 1980; while there, she earned her master's degree in secondary education from George Washington University in 1968.

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