Mary Jane Green Christman

Mary Jane Christman, 91, died peacefully at home on May 11, 2024 surrounded by her family.

 Mary Jane was born on December 11, 1932 in Houston, Texas.  Her parents moved back to her father’s family home in Bay St. Louis when Mary Jane was in the first grade.  There they shared the house with her grandfather, aunt and uncle, and several years later, her first cousin, Waldo Otis. Her sister, Jeanne or Johnnie, was born when Mary Jane was sixteen.  Mary Jane graduated from St. Joseph’s Academy in Bay St. Louis and attended St. Mary’s Dominican College in New Orleans before working for a short time with Humble Oil.   New Orleans continued to be home after she and Ralph Jr. were married Labor Day weekend 1954 at Our Lady of the Gulf Church in Bay St. Louis.  Seven children in a decade kept Mary Jane busy as a mom, active at Holy Name, Ecole Classique, De La Salle, Mercy, and McGehee schools. Then she graduated to be a Stanford, LSU, Tulane, Alabama and Springhill Mom – sometimes hard to know who to root for especially when grandchildren started attending college.

In 2004, Ralph and Mary Jane celebrated their fiftieth anniversary in the same church they were married in, repeating their marriage vows including saying ‘yes’ to “And will you accept children willingly and lovingly from God?” as their seven children laughed in the front pews.  A reception followed in the family home on S. Beach Boulevard where they had celebrated their wedding and where her grandparents had celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary.  By the next year, the family home was gone – blown and washed away by Katrina – but the home that Ralph and Mary Jane had built in Pass Christian was virtually untouched and became a haven for friends returning to rebuild.

Mary Jane was a devout Catholic and received The Order of St. Louis from Archbishop Shulte of New Orleans and The Lumen Christi Award from Bishop Morin of Biloxi.  She was President of the Society of St. Vincent DePaul at Holy Family Parish in Pass Christian.

She was also very active in both yacht clubs that she and Ralph belonged to.  She was a co-chairman of Southern Yacht Club’s Ladies Auxiliary and Chairman of the Pass Christian Yacht Club’s Ladies Auxiliary, pressed into service for two terms because of Hurricane Katrina.  She was a maid in Bards of the Bilges at Southern Yacht Club and Queen of Bards of the Binnacles at Pass Christian Yacht Club.

Mary Jane was preceded in death by her parents, Mabel Williams Green and John A. Green, her granddaughter, Courtney Christman Foster and her husband of 61 years, Ralph James Christman, Jr.  She is survived by her seven children and their spouses – Charlotte (Paolo Sheaffer), Ralph III (Julie Tinsley), John (Miliss McKay), Greg (Caroline Murphy), Janie (John Boling), Preston, and Paul Christman – as well as eighteen grandchildren – Ryan, Ralston (Daphney) and Garrett (Mysti)Foster; Ralph IV(Leah), Samuel, and Neal Christman; Nicholas and Jordan (Heather) Christman; Jack, Trevor,, Lucie, and Amelie (Andrew Casadaban) Christman; Crawford (Lauren), Shelby and Caroline Boling; Marguerite Christman; and Nathan and Cameron Christman.  Mary Jane has twelve great grandchildren.   She is also survived by her sister, Jeanne Marie Green and her cousin, Waldo C. Otis, Jr. (Julia Burns).

The Christman family can never thank enough Sarah Wells who cared for Ralph and then Mary Jane over the last thirteen years.  Her loving care allowed them to spend many extra years with us in the comfort of their home.  Mary Jane was also cared for by Janiece Dedeaux, Latoya Dedeaux, Sherrell Green, Angelica Lizana, Tammy Allen, and Amy Thompson.

On Saturday, May 25, there will be a Mass of Christian Burial at Holy Family Catholic Church in Pass Christian beginning at 10:00 am.  Interment will follow that same day at Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery beginning at 3:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to the Society of St. Vincent DePaul; Holy Family Parish; 22342 Evangeline Drive; Pass Christian, MS  39571 or online at holyfamilyparish.cc  

The Riemann Family Funeral Home, Long Beach, is serving the family and online condolences may be offered at www.riemannfamily.com