Mary Gossett

Mary Ruth “Wabmimi” Green Gossett, born December 14th, 1945, to George and Lillian Green in Slaton, Texas, passed on April 22, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee.

A survivor of the 1970 Lubbock Tornado, she received not one, but two college degrees in medical technology (1969) and computer programming (1982) in her lifetime. After many years of service, she retired from Texas Tech University– her alma mater– in 2017.

A proud Neshnabekwé, Mary Ruth fiercely advocated for marginalized communities, and as an active member of Lubbock PFLAG, hosted, led, and sponsored myriad events in her home.

In addition to her political involvement, registering voters and marching many a mile for the causes she believed in, she cared deeply for the communities she found herself part of and in proximity to.

She led an energetic and dynamic life. A self-trained artist, she mastered a variety of painting techniques which she applied generously to the walls and furniture of her own, colorful family home. She followed in a long line of Bodwewadmíkwé artists just as her mother, and her grandmother before her.

An expert gardener, her lush plots regularly attracted the attention of a great many bees and other pollinators. Her extensive knowledge of plants and wildlife undergirded a long commitment to the environment and its protection.

Though the acrylic paints sit on their shelf, untouched since her hands placed them there, the flowers in her garden have bloomed in the days since she’s walked on. Mary Ruth’s impact lives on through the hundreds of lives she’s touched, her children, grandchild, and many friends– just as it does through those pink, white, and yellow flowers that bob in the gentle, Tennessee breeze, and the bees who land upon their stem.

She leaves behind son, Charles Green, daughter, Courtney Wilkerson, and grandchild, Kabl Wilkerson.