Mailman, Mary Nan, 1929-2016

Mary Nan Hudgins Mailman, 87, of Weatherford, Texas, died peacefully in her sleep on Saturday, June 25, 2016. A memorial service honoring the life of Mary Nan Hudgins Mailman will be Wednesday, June 29 at 11 a.m. at St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church, 117 Ranch House Road, Willow Park, Texas. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorials be made to the Martin Mailman Excellence in Performance Endowed Scholarship at Oklahoma City University (https://secure.okcu.edu/onlinegiving/, (405) 208-7000). She was born in Forney, Texas on April 29, 1929 and grew up in Dallas. She graduated from North Dallas High School in 1946. She earned bachelors and masters degrees in piano performance at North Texas State College, where she studied with Silvio Scionti. She earned an artist diploma from the Juilliard School of Music, studying with the famous piano pedagogue Rosina Lhévinne. A lifelong musician and pianist, she began her lengthy career at age 20 by winning the 1949 G.B. Dealey Memorial Award and playing the Mozart Concerto in E-flat Major for Two Pianos with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. She went on to serve on the piano faculties at the Eastman School of Music, East Carolina University, and the University of North Texas. She concertized frequently, with performances of works by Mozart and Poulenc among her favorites. She was a member of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Denton, Texas and was a Daughter of the King. She was a longtime member of Sigma Alpha Iota and Pi Kappa Lambda. She is survived by her daughter Martha (Marcy) Freeman and son-in-law Mitchell Freeman of Weatherford, Texas; son, Matthew Henry Mailman of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; two grandchildren, Margaret Frances Akers of San Francisco, California, and Mark Benjamin Akers of Weatherford, Texas; niece, Mary Catherine Billingsley and husband Tommy Billingsley of Lufkin, Texas; and nephew, Jack William Hudgins, III and wife Rebecca Hudgins of Boston, Massachusetts; sister-in-law Bunny Harvey and husband Frank Muhly of Providence, New York; sister-in-law Dolly Hudgins of Lufkin, Texas; nephew Nico Muhly of New York City, New York; and great nieces and nephews Beth Billingsley of Denver, Colorado, John Billingsley of Mansfield, Texas, Jackson Hudgins and Leah Menaul of Boston, Massachusetts.

Mary Nan Hudgins Mailman ('50, '56 M.M.), 87, a professor of music who taught at UNT from 1976 to 1995, died June 25 in Weatherford. A lifelong pianist, she began her music career at age 20 when she won the 1949 G.B. Dealey Memorial Award and played a Mozart Concerto with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. She was a finalist in the International Concours in Geneva, Switzerland. She taught at the Eastman School of Music and East Carolina University in addittion to UNT. She especially loved performing works by Mozart and Poulenc and often played as a dual pianist with lonngtime friend and fellow piano faculty member Jean Mainous. She earned her degrees in piano at North Texas, where she studied with Silvio Scionti and was married to Martin Mailman, also a music professor. She earned an artist diploma from Juilliard, studying with the famous piano pedagogue Rosina Lhévinne. Survivors include her son, Matthew Mailman ('95 D.M.A.).