Mary Louise Gales Penley, 88, died Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016 in Morrisville.

Born April 1, 1927 to William and Laura Bell Gales, Mary grew up in Davie County, and moved to Salisbury after marriage where she raised her family and was involved in her community schools, and church. She was active in the PTA, Civitan Club, Meals on Wheels, and many other organizations where she served as a volunteer. She worked in the school system and with associations that benefited children and adults with special needs. She and her husband were house parents for a group home for mentally handicapped adults. They were foster parents to several children who cherish the love and attention they gave them. They remember Aunt Weesie who loved them as her own. She was an active member of Coburn United Methodist Church, and later, Millford Hills Methodist Church. In 2014, she moved to Morrisville to be near her daughter but she always longed to go home.

She was preceded in death by her husband Bernard, her son Dick, and sisters Frances Miller and Dorcas Vogler Mesimer.

Survivors: her daughter, Rosemary Smith and husband Tim of Morrisville; daughter-in-law Nancy Penley of Salisbury; grandchildren Ashley McMillan and husband Jimmy of Cary,  Brad Penley of Salisbury, Stuart Smith and wife Catherine of St. John’s USVI, Elizabeth Penley of Wilmington, and Lauren Wetter and husband Michael of Salisbury; 5 great-granddaughters, Cameron, Sutton, and Brynn Wetter and Emerson and Avery McMillan; and a special and devoted “daughter,” Susie Browne of Cary.

The family was to receive friends from 11 a.m.-noon Thursday at Summersett Funeral Home. The service was to be conducted at noon in the Summersett Memorial Chapel. Burial was to follow in the US National Cemetery, Statesville Blvd., Salisbury.

Memorials: ARC of Rowan, dedicated to supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, 108 Dorsett Drive, Salisbury, 28144; the Ronald McDonald House, 419 S. Hawthorne Road, Winston-Salem, 27013; or to the charity of your choice.

Condolences: www.summersettfuneralhome.com.