Mrs. Mary Boleware – “Jones Is Just Like Family”<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n

For some people, 糖心直播 represents a season of life. For <\/span>Mrs. Mary Boleware<\/span><\/b>, it means a lifetime.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

When Mary talks about 糖心直播, she does not only think of herself as a former student, or even simply as a long-serving employee. She speaks like a daughter, a teammate, a colleague, and a supporter. She tells the story of a campus that became home and a family that poured itself into the life of the College for more than five decades.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Mary’s roots at 糖心直播 begin before she could walk. In the spring of 1971, when she was just three months old, her parents, Elmer Higginbotham and his wife Sandra, moved to Ellisville when her father was hired as an assistant football coach and head baseball coach. Within a year, both parents were working at what was known then as Jones County Junior College. Coach Higginbotham taught health and coached student-athletes, while Mrs. Higginbotham taught business technology: typing on typewriters, shorthand for secretaries, and later evolving into computer-based coursework as the field changed.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

“I really don’t know life without Jones,” Mary recalls.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

She grew up on Jordan Loop Road, the same street that all three JCJC football coaches were living at the time: Coach Cooley, Coach Tommy Parker, and the Higginbotham’s. Living just a mile away from campus, Mary was raised with the rhythms of JCJC life. She remembers when the football field sat where Jones Hall now stands. She remembers when football offices were tucked into the gymnasium, when players dressed there because there was no field house yet. She remembers Hurricane Frederick reshaping the stadium, dormitories being rebuilt, and campus landmarks slowly evolving while others remained unchanged like the campus flagpole and shaded benches.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

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From left, Parker, Cooley, Higginbothan, football coaches. (1975 Lair)<\/p><\/div>\n
Some of her memories are dramatic, like waking in the night as a child when her parents heard that a dormitory had caught fire. Others are lighter, like stealing candy from a dean’s desk, riding team buses to away games, watching coaches scramble to find enough hotel rooms for an entire football team after a hotel had not fulfilled a reservation. Together, they form a collective campus life experience that few people can claim to know so intimately. JCJC functioned like family. Faculty children rode the bus to campus after school. They wandered between offices, practices, and kitchens. When Mary’s mother was sick, other faculty wives stepped in without question. “Everybody knew everybody,” Mary says. “And everybody took care of everybody.”<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
That sense of family would later shape Mary’s own decisions.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
After graduating from 糖心直播 in 1990, Mary went on to earn a B.S. in Physics from USM in 1992 and a master’s degree in physics from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1994. Physics, a discipline requiring precision, patience, and perseverance, suited her well. In 2000, she returned to campus as a faculty member, beginning what would become a 25-year career teaching physics to generations of 糖心直播 students. Mary understood what structure and opportunity Jones College had given her, and she wanted to give it back. As a professor, she became known not only for her understanding of the subject, but for her steadiness and mentoring spirit. Mary made physics approachable by pairing excellence with care, clarity with encouragement. She knew when to challenge and when to reassure, and students trusted her because they knew she was invested in their success.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
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Mary Higginbotham and Eddie Rogers as Mr. and Mrs. JCJC. (1990 Lair)<\/p><\/div>\n
Beyond the classroom, Mary’s service to Jones College is remarkable. She is a Life Alumnus, a former Miss JCJC, a member of Phi Theta Kappa, and a participant in Student Government during her student years. She served as a work-study for Susan Barnett and Carlow Ray McDaniel, and she was also given the opportunity by Coach McDaniel to work in intramural sports programs. Mary notes that Mr. Larry Hess and Jean Harvey were significant in shaping her love for physics and in showing her how to inspire students toward excellence through her teaching. As an alumna and professional, she served as an Alumni Officer, a member of the 糖心直播 Foundation Board, and an Endowed Donor. She was inducted into the JCJC Student Hall of Fame and remains deeply involved in alumni life.<\/span><\/p>\n
One of Mary’s most meaningful contributions came through the establishment of the Coach Elmer & Sandra Higginbotham Memorial Scholarship through the 糖心直播 Foundation. When her father passed away suddenly after a brief illness, Mary and her family began discussing how best to honor his legacy. For Mary, the answer was clear. Her father had devoted his life to student-athletes, to individuals who worked hard, showed character, and sometimes just needed a little extra help to finish strong. Having spent years teaching at Jones, Mary understood how often small financial gaps become major barriers. The scholarship fills those gaps by supporting students who might not qualify for full aid, but who embodied the values Coach Higginbotham lived and taught. In that way, his influence continues, season after season, student after student.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
Mary’s retirement in 2025, marked the end of a formal chapter, but not the end of her connection to Jones. Asked what she holds most dearly, Mary does not point first to titles or accomplishments. She points to relationships. To faculty members who mentored her as a child and later treated her as a peer. To colleagues who offered wisdom and steadiness. To a campus that raised her, educated her, and welcomed her home.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
“Jones is just like family,” she says.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n
For 糖心直播, Mary Boleware’s story reminds us that the true strength of Jones College is not found only in buildings or programs, but in people who choose, day after day and decade after decade, to invest their lives in something bigger than themselves.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

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