Mary Hatcher

Mary Hatcher, an Ohio farmers daughter who became the personal assistant to U.S.A.F. Chief of Staff Gen. Curtis LeMay, died Monday (Nov. 24) in the assisted living ward of her home at Swan Creek Retirement Village. Mrs. Hatcher, 97, suffered from congestive heart failure, said her son, Pastor Roger Miller. Mary was born January 5, 1917, to Morton and Georgia Newlon, in Bridgeport, W. Va. The family moved to property near Marietta, Ohio, in 1919. Her college studies began at Mountain State College in Parkersburg, W.Va., where she taught for three years, and became the bookkeeper and admitting officer at Camden Clarke Hospital. Though she was many miles from the nations capital, her accounting and administrative skills all but guaranteed that she would join the million-plus corps of government girls who flocked to Washington in 1941. At 24, her first government job was with the U.S. Armys Quartermaster Corps in the construction division led by then Col. Leslie R. Groves (who later headed the Manhattan Project) in the historic project of building the Pentagon. In an age before Google, her first challenge was an international search to locate engineers who had mastered moment distribution, necessary for stabilizing the worlds largest office building on swampy ground.  Subsequently she worked with the Corps of Military Police who were involved in calling up reserve officers to active duty, including film celebrities and contemporary crime-busters like Melvin Purvis, the man who got John Dillinger - and a CMP Colonel, Alton C. Miller, who soon became her fiance. In 1942 she married Col. Miller. They raised three sons, Alton, Jerry and Roger, and through their childhood her management skills benefited the local Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Altar Guild. She was active in the church choir. She also continued her education at the University of Maryland. She returned to the commercial world as secretary and assistant office manager for the National Association of Real Estate Boards, followed by 16 years in the Pentagon, first as a pool secretary, then as personal secretary and administrative assistant to Gen. LeMay. During these years, she considered herself privileged to attend a number of ceremonies in the White House Rose Garden and East Room, meeting public figures from Charles Lindberg to John Glenn. She also served as an unofficial researcher and editorial assistant, working closely with author MacKinlay Kantor, ghostwriter of Mission with LeMay: My Story. After the death of her first husband in 1960, Mary met and married Air Force Col. Albert D. Hatcher, Jr., in 1964. They worked together in the Pentagon where he was the speech writer for three consecutive chiefs of staff. In 1971 they retired to Punta Gorda, Fla., and later to San Antonio, and Kerrville, Texas. Their 2004 move to Swan Creek Retirement Village in Toledo, Ohio, brought her back to her home state, close to her Ohio family. She was active as a volunteer worker in many areas of the Swan Creek community, and loved helping others. Albert died in 2005. Mary was a member of St. Pauls Evangelical Lutheran Church, Maumee, Ohio, where her son Roger was senior pastor. Her hobbies included painting, 42 (dominos), Upwords, arts and crafts and reading. Until her final days she was a master at both Rummikub and bridge. She is survived by Alton Miller (Dominika), Jerry Miller (Barbara), Roger Miller (Leslie); eight grandchildren, Julie Stewart Meindl (John), Victoria Miller, Nina Miller, Heidi Brown (Corey), Haley Carroll (Adrian), Steve Miller (Wendy), Sarah Miller; ten great grandchildren, a sister, Dorothy Haskins Black, eight nephews and five nieces; four stepchildren, Etoile Jessup (Jerry), Ellen Hatcher, John Hatcher (Sue), Jim Hatcher (Sheri), grandchildren Russell Jessup (Jeannie), Karen Coleman (Kevin), Eric Velmir, Jeff, Sean, William, Carlos and Callie Hatcher, and two great grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at the Maison-Dardenne-Walker Funeral, 501 Conant Street, Maumee, Ohio on Saturday December 6, 2014 at 11:00 a.m.  Memorial contributions may be directed to the Donors Choice.  Online condolences may be given at www.walkerfuneralhomes.com