Mary Beth Viau
Mary Beth Viau, formerly of Va. beach, currently of Fairlawn, passed away, at the age of 73, on her birthday, Friday, January 24, 2025. She was preceded in death by her parents, William Edward Felchner and Evelyn Amsden Felchner; brothers and their spouses, Al Colby (Stacy) and Billy Felchner (Chris); and nephew, Robbie Colby.
Survivors include her husband and constant companion, Rob; daughters, Amy Minnick and her husband, Duane, and Anne Marie Viau; granddaughters, (her pride and joy) Savannah Minnick, Lylah Minnick and Macy Minnick; sisters-in-law, Denise Viau and Cindy Kahan (Alan); brothers-in-law, Greg Viau (Susan) and Mark Viau (Wendy); and many other aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins.
Mary was born in New Jersey, a place she never chose to claim (sorry, no offense Jersey people), and spent a few years in Washington state, another place she never claimed, sorry to you guys too, and eventually moved to Va. Beach where she grew up. She graduated from Kempsville H.S. in 1970 and went to Radford University that same year. She graduated from Radford in 1974 with a degree in Speech Pathology. She married Rob on August 17, 1974 (lucky day for him) and went to work as a Speech Pathologist in the Va. Beach School System. Her career only lasted 7 years until Amy came along in 1981 and soon after came Anne in 1983. So, needless to say, Mary had her hands full with a toddler and an infant to care for while Rob was lucky enough to leave all that in the rear view mirror every morning while he drove off to work!
During her years as a school employee Mary served on a committee that pioneered a program for young (2 years old) developmentally delayed children. A program still in existence in Va. Beach and many other school divisions throughout the state. This experience gave Mary the ability to identify children at an early age that were not developing the skills that they should. Well, that ability came into play as Anne approached her first birthday. Mary soon had Anne enrolled in the program she helped pioneer. More on that shortly.
During those early years, Mary got so much enjoyment from Amy. She loved yelling “Kick It” to Amy any time the ball came near her on the soccer field. (Meanwhile Rob would slip quietly down the sideline so as not to appear supportive of that “kick it” business). Mary also enjoyed all of Amy’s other activities especially her time on the St. Mark’s Children’s Choir. As both Amy and Anne grew older Mary had so much pride in all of Amy’s achievements. Even to this Mary would remark on what a wonderful mother Amy was and she stood in awe of Amy’s ability to mother, wife, work, and dog wrangle full time 24-7!
A little more about Anne. As Anne grew, Mary knew that there were programs available within the school system for “Special Children” like her. The problem was the difficulty in enrolling a child in those very costly programs. So, along came Helen Burroughs who became
Mary’s longest and best friend. Mary and Helen became members of The Va Beach Schools Special Education Advisory Committee. Together they fought the system to the point that access to Special Ed. Programs became open and easily accessible to parents who felt that their children qualified. To this day the Va Beach School System is open and actively searches for qualified children in need of Special Education. Probably not an “underserved” population of children in Heaven, but if there are, Mary and Helen are on it and… pretty sure Mary will enlist Janet Minnick on the team also!
Another one of Mary’s passions was hunger. She served for many years at the St. Mark’s Food Pantry in Va Beach, and more recently, at the Fairlawn Backpacks Program. Fairlawn Backpacks sends weekend food home with school children who may not have enough, or any, to get them through until Monday. Currently Fairlawn Backpacks serves 117 children.
Finally Mary had a bright smiling face and a bright disposition to go along with it. She spoke to anyone and everyone she encountered. One of the factors that I (Rob) considered when deciding to leave Va Beach for Fairlawn was the fact that all of the grocery store clerks she encountered probably knew more about me than I would have liked. She wasted no time in getting the Fairlawn Walmart clerks up to speed though. She loved people and people loved her! She leaves a void in the lives of all who knew her. We will miss her smile, her forever positive attitude, her laugh and her Love!
So… in the words of one of Mary’s favorite singer/songwriters, Vince Gill,
“Go Rest High On That Mountain,
Your Work Here On Earth Is Done!
Go To Heaven Shouting
Love For The Father And The Son!”
The family will receive friends from 12 p.m. until 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 8, 2025, at the Rockford Community Church, 6867 Viscoe Road, Fairlawn, VA, 24141. Memorial services will begin at 1 p.m. with Rev. Duane Minnick and Rev. John Kren officiating. Reception to follow in the Fellowship Hall.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Fairlawn Backpack Program Attn: Carletta Kemp, 65 Justin Lane, Christiansburg, VA, 24073.
A special thank you to all of Mary’s Care Givers, Jennifer, Jordan and Dr. B with Carilion; Cindy, Jes, Pollyanne, Alexis, Kelly and the rest of the staff at Carilion Clinic Hospice; and all the staff at Mullins Funeral Home.
The Viau family is in the care of Mullins Funeral Home & Crematory in Radford. www.mullinsfuneralhome.com