Mary Margaret Atkinson (Mullis) Hughes

Mary Margaret Atkinson (Mullis) Hughes, "Mimi", 81, died on Thursday April 13 at her home in Winchester, VA.

She was born in 1935, the 8th child of Robert William and Estella Brieg Atkinson of Berkley Springs, WV. She is survived by her children Stella-Meg, Tyrus and Cletus Mullis of Winchester, VA and Joyce Colzani of Philadelphia, PA. She is remembered by grandchildren Aimee, Matthew and Ryan Chiglinsky, Holly, Shelley and Piper Hynson, Emma and Eliana Colzani and Juliana Marie Darrah-Mullis and great-grandchildren Destynee Laurito, Reese, Grayson and Rylan Chiglinsky as well as many loving and beloved nieces and nephews.

She was married for seven years to O. Ray Mullis, who taught and coached basketball at Cardinal Gibbons H.S. in Baltimore, MD. He died in 1994.

Mimi married Thomas R. Hughes in 1979 and they enjoyed life together in Ellicott City, MD, Rabat, Morocco, Virginia Beach and Winchester, VA. He died in 2012. Tom's children Thomas and Joan preceded her in death in 1982 and 2016.

Predeceased siblings are: World War II Veterans Flying Tiger Capt. Peter W. Atkinson, Capt. Alphonsus J. Atkinson, Capt. Robert E. Atkinson and Lt. Theresa Atkinson Moore, R.N. Ruth Marie Atkinson died at age 9. Anthony F. Atkinson, a veteran of the Korean War, died in Martinsburg WV in 2006. Gertrude Isabel Atkinson died at age 94 in 2009.

Mimi taught school for 27 years in Baltimore County, MD and 18 months in Rabat, Morocco adding joy and enthusiasm to her degree in Elementary Education from Mount St. Agnes College where her great-great aunt, Mother Alphonsus Atkinson (Mary Isabel) was Mother Superior for 30 years. She received a M.Ed. from Loyola in Baltimore, MD and Certifications in Special Ed. and Music.

She kept fond memories of her education years beginning with the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul at St. Joseph's School in Martinsburg, WV to her time at St. Joseph's Academy in McSherrystown, PA where her aunt, Sr. Mary Alonzo (Anne Gertrude Breig) was a Religious Sister of St. Joseph of Philadelphia. In her youth, she was active in church choirs, community theater and sang for weddings and funerals.

Mary was a member of the Sacred Heart of Jesus parish in Winchester, VA. Following a Mass of Christian Burial on May 1, 2017 at 10 am, she will be buried in the Atkinson family plot at the Rosedale Cemetery in Martinsburg, WV.

Ministry of Comfort Entrusted to
Cartwright Funeral Home
Winchester, VA