Mary Ann Vidlar was born Jan. 9, 1931 in Zabcikville, TX to the home of Ollie Belle (Locke) and Edmund “Ed” Bigler, and died at her home in Floyd on Feb. 28, 2018. The family moved to Anton, TX when she was a small child. She was an outstanding athlete in school, and was long remembered as one of the best basketball players in the school’s history. She also won the district title for singles in tennis.. In addition, she was very good with numbers and won math bees, as well as spelling bees while she was in school. Mrs. Vidlar graduated in 1948, and on Sept. 16, 1948 in Anton, she was married to Albert “Al” Vidlar. In 1956, they moved to the Floyd community where Mary Ann lived for the remainder of her life.
As a girl growing up, she was raised driving tractors and milking cows twice a day, and those habits of hard work carried over for the rest of her life. She worked alongside her husband in taking care of the farm work. Whenever she was outside, Mary Ann had a 22 to shoot rabbits and rattlesnakes. There was always a big garden, and she canned the produce for her family, but was always ready to share with others. She was well known for her pickles, both sweet and dill. Mealtime was a grand event with plenty of everything, and guests were always welcome. Another of her specialties was her delicious pies. Family was very important to her, and she enjoyed making a pleasant home for them.
Mary Ann loved word games, especially scrabble. She rarely lost a game, and in later years she enjoyed playing “Words With Friends” on the computer. She often played four or five games at the same time. Mary Ann also loved to go fishing at Conchas Lake. Her favorite movie was Secretariat, and she once told her son that she had watched it 46 times. She was a faithful member of the Melrose Church of Christ.
She is survived by her son, Butch Vidlar of Floyd; and her daughter and son-in-law, Connie and Kim Morgan of Floyd; five grandchildren, Frank (Dana) Morgan, Chris (Sheree) Morgan, Wes (Chieri) Morgan, Scotty (Leah) Cannon and Jeramy (Christie) Cannon; 14 great-grandchildren and 4 great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, three brothers, Emil, Panny and Buck Bigler and four sisters, Ruby Stephenson, Addie McGinnis, Ellen Bostwick and Babe Earnest, as well as by her husband, Al Vidlar, who died Mar. 31, 2012 after more than 63 years of marriage.
