Mary Kollarik
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The Reverend (Colonel) Mary Lou (Morris) Kollarik, age 77, died January 4, 2023 in hospice care at Benton Village in Stockbridge, GA after a full and eventful life. Born in 1945 in SC to Bill and Carola Morris, she attended Dutch Fork Elementary and Chapin High School and then graduated from Winthrop College in 1968. She received a Direct Commission in the US Army upon her graduation, and attended Women's Army Corps (WAC) Officer Basic Training at Ft. McClellan in Alabama. After Basic, she was assigned to the Transportation School at Ft. Eustis, VA as Chief of the Enlisted Section of the Academic Records and Student Affairs Division. With the dissolution of the WAC in the early 1970's, she completed training for, and became, a Transportation Officer. She spent the rest of her over 35-year career in various transportation and instructor positions. During her military career, she met and married her husband, Don Kollarik, another Transportation Officer, in November 1969. Together, they produced two miracles, a son, Scott in 1972, and a daughter, Ginny, in 1977. They were married 53 years before her death in 2023. After her numerous assignments in Virginia, New York, Alaska, Georgia, and Missouri, and her educational assignments in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas and the Army War College at Carlisle Barracks in PA, she retired from the Army with the rank of Colonel in 2005. After her Army retirement, Mary went back to school, receiving a Masters of Divinity degree from Emory University's Candler School of Theology, and was ordained as a United Methodist pastor in the North Georgia Conference. She served as Senior Pastor of churches in both the Griffin and Augusta, GA districts before retiring again in 2007 from active ministry. She loved serving the Lord and she loved the people in her assigned churches.
After the second retirement, she and her husband enjoyed traveling to other countries and to most of the states in the USA. They especially loved the mountains and spent their summers camping along the Blue Ridge Parkway and in the Smoky Mountains. In her spare time, she enjoyed gardening, cooking, reading, and volunteering. Throughout her life, she was an avid volunteer with the Red Cross Blood Drives, military thrift shops, and her churches wherever she lived. Reverend Kollarik is survived by her husband of 53 years, her children, her grandchildren, Alex and Cyan, and her brothers Bob Morris, Joe Morris, Jim Morris, Timothy Morris, and David Morris. A memorial service is being planned for the Spring, which was her favorite time of year, and will be announced later. An additional graveside service with full military honors will be at Arlington National Cemetery, Washington DC and announced when scheduled. In lieu of flowers, friends and family are invited to make a donation to the Kollarik Scholarship for Military Chaplins, addressed to Candler School, 1531 Dickey Drive Atlanta, Georgia 30322 in memory of Reverend Mary, or to her church, Stockbridge First United Methodist Church, Stockbridge GA. Please join the family and friends in honoring the life of Reverend (Colonel) Mary Kollarik by visiting www.conner-westburyfuneralhome.com and posting your tributes and memories.