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Obituary for Dr. Donald Joseph Mabry

Dr. Donald Joseph  Mabry
Dr. Donald Joseph Mabry, husband, father, grandfather, historian, educator, supporter of the arts, and connoisseur of fine (and not-so-fine) wines, cartoon jokes and famous quotes, died Saturday, March 25, 2017 after a difficult battle with cancer. He was 75.

Services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday in the Chapel of Memories on the MSU campus. Visitation will follow.

Dr. Mabry was born April 21, 1941 in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Jerry Leon Mabry, Sr. and Eunice Leigh Harris. He graduated with honors from Kenyon College in 1963, earned his Master’s in Education from Bowling Green State University in 1964, and his Ph.D. in history (with distinction) from Syracuse University in 1970. He was an internationally-recognized expert on 20th century Mexican political history, the Latin American narcotics trade, and computer communications for historians.

He taught at St. Johns River Community College in Florida, Syracuse University, and Mississippi State University, where he became a senior research fellow of the Center for International Security and Strategic Studies in 1981; and became Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at MSU in 1991. He also was named Director of the Institute for the Humanities, and Director of the Biological and Physical Sciences Research Institute in 1991, and he served as Acting Director of the Center for Visual Creation and Co-Director of the Center for Math and Science. He was inducted into the Starkville Education Hall of Fame.

Dr. Mabry authored six books and hundreds of articles over the course of his career, and edited many more manuscripts and articles. Perhaps most notably, Dr. Mabry pioneered in introducing historians to the use of the Internet for professional purposes. Don Mabry's Historical Text Archive was the first Internet-based file storage and retrieval site for historians, and has won over fifty awards. The Archive has also published 70 books and over 675 articles in electronic form. The Historical Archive also receives 19 million page views a year.

Though he retired from MSU in 2003, Dr. Mabry continued to maintain the Historical Text Archive. Determined to enjoy his “free time,” he continued to write, research, and serve as a guest lecturer. He also took an active role in Starkville Community Theatre and several other local organizations. He enjoyed traveling with his wife, Paula, and London was one of his favorite destinations. He was an avid photographer, and he could be spotted most early mornings walking through downtown Starkville or around the MSU campus.

Dr. Mabry attended elementary school in Jacksonville Beach, Florida and continued to regard it as a second home. His final book, “World’s Finest Beach: A Brief History of the Jacksonville Beaches,” reflected his love of the Jacksonville area. In 2010, Mabry was named Historian Emeritus of the Beaches Area Historical Society in Jacksonville Beach. An honor he was particularly proud of, given his love of the area.

Dr. Mabry is survived by his beloved wife Paula Crockett Mabry of Starkville; his sons Scott Landon Mabry (Ingeborg Hoya) of Herndon, Virginia, and Mark Robert Mabry of Minnetonka, Minnesota; grandchildren Jonah, Isaac, and Ian Mabry of Herndon; stepchildren Heath Hudson of Columbus, and Heather Hudson of Starkville; his brother Fred Mabry (Duane) of Atlanta, his half-brother Bevars Mabry (Mary Jeanne) of Toledo, Ohio; his beloved Duffy and Marli; and a host of surrogate children whom he both admired and loved. He was preceded in death by his parents; his brother Larry; and his half-brothers Frank Olschner (Evelyn) of Jacksonville, Florida, and Jerry Leon Mabry, Jr. of Georgia.

In lieu of flowers, Dr. Mabry’s family requests that commemorative donations can be made to the Beaches Area Historical Society, benefitting the Jacksonville area, (www.beachesmuseum.org/donate) or to Starkville Community Theatre (www.sct-online.org).



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