Mary Francis Sayre Tilbury, 81, peacefully passed away Saturday, 13 October 2018 in Indianapolis, IN succumbing to ALS after a valiant two-year battle. Mary was born in Newport News, VA. She was the cherished daughter of Dr. James Warren Sayre and Mildred Lee Sayre.
Mary spent her entire adult life as a nurse, specializing in nursing education and management. She earned her B.S. in Nursing from Duke University, her M.S. in Nursing Administration from the University of Maryland and her Doctor of Education from Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Her instructional activities included responsibilities across undergraduate, masters and doctoral programs and included development and implementation of graduate-level leadership courses. She was also a part-time professor in nursing leadership and management at Walden University. Mary published a variety of articles in nursing related books and journals and presented numerous papers at nursing conferences over the past three decades. She retired as an associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing in Baltimore, MD.
She is survived by her son CDR Jeffrey Tilbury, USN (Ret.), daughter Laura, and four grandsons, Clinton, William, Davis and Hunter.
Those desiring to make a memorial contribution in her memory are encouraged to donate to either the ALS Association or the American Nurses Foundation.
brian says
May the resurrection hope spoken of at John 5:28,29 provide comfort to the friends and family of Mary who look forward to seeing her again.
Roy A.Harris RN, PhD says
Brian: I had the honor and privilege of having Mary mentor me into a full time teaching role at Walden University in 2010. I didn’t have a lot of formal academic experience but I had a long 32 year career in the military nursing with broad operational experience as a head nurse up to the level of Medical Center Chief Nurse. She encouraged me to leverage that experience and “you’ll leave the academics in your dust!” Smile…She was an amazing nursing leader, woman and very good friend. I was about to join Dr. Joe Proulx and visit her many times over her last six months. While it was so very difficult to witness first hand her decline physically, we were able to “communicate” with her through her iPad and her mind remained amazingly sharp till our last visit. While her passing saddens me because we are left behind, I’m thankful that she is at peace. The Lord gives all of us peace that we will all be together again and I’m sure Mary is looking down on ALL of us and caring for us! May God richly bless you and your family and I pray for peace for your family and I’m sure you live with such wonderful memories and an incredible person who had such a special journey on earth and impacted so many people. Her career has touched nurses in all generations and it is in that legacy that Mary lives on…Rest in Peace dear friend…