Mary Ann McCallister

LAURA MARY ANN MCCALLISTER, age 87, of Worthington OH, peacefully passed into the arms of her merciful Lord on Thursday, January 22, 2026 at Kobacker House in Columbus Ohio.

Mary Ann was born on June 8, 1938 in Cable, Ohio to the late Willard Hall Hodsden and Helen Maude (Roush) Hodsden. As a child, Mary Ann was a happy farm girl on the family farm near West Mansfield Ohio, free to roam the fields and barns and pens. From growing up on a farm, she learned both hard work and a deep love for animals. As the story goes, she even trained piglets to do tricks on command like walking in circles as a group. Her whole life, she was always surrounded by dogs and cats, and she cared for them dutifully and loved them like family. She even drove up once to Columbus for a family wedding with a mystery male companion, which caused a short stir, until the family realized it was only her beloved dog Bob.

After high school, Mary Ann attended The Ohio State University for a short time before getting married and starting her family in Columbus.

As her kids grew up, Mary Ann also cared for her parents, and ran an informal day care at her house to help earn extra money for the family. Many of the children she cared were from neighbor families, and she grew close to them and their parents. Once her own kids were grown, and her mother became hard to handle alone, she and her mom moved to Louisville with son John's family, where her mother later passed. She then moved to Texas, living in Belton and then Temple next door to her daughter Julie and family. At first, she worked there as a home health aid for elderly patients, and then decided to pursue a nursing license and degree. She was in her 50's at this time. After her graduation, she worked at Scott and White Hospital in Temple as a nurse until retiring. There she met her dear and faithful friend Ursula Jones who kept close contact with her until death. During this time, Mary Ann faithfully made regular trips back to Ohio and other places to be with family as much as she could and to attend family events and help with the arrival of new babies, etc.. She made long treks from Texas many times, even after her health began to fade. She did this out of love for all of her children and their families, never wanting to be away from any of them.

When Mary Ann's health began to decline even more, she moved back to Ohio for a hip surgery and ended up living the last seven years of her life in Worthington OH. Though part of her heart was always back in Texas, and she had many physical limitations in her latter years, the move back to Ohio gave her many opportunities with family she otherwise would not have had.

In addition to her parents, Mary Ann was preceded in death by her ex-husband Boyd William McCallister, two brothers, Dr. Stephen Hodsden and James Hodsden, beloved aunt Ruth (Hodsden) Hagans, uncle Robert Hagans and cousin Michael Hagans, her daughter-in-law Mae (Dailey) McCallister and of course many family members from Ohio.

Survivors include her children, John McCallister, Jeff (Mary Beth) McCallister, Julie (Richard) Hughes, Joe (Elaine) McCallister, and Jamie (Joy) McCallister; sixteen grandchildren and twenty-five great-grandchildren. Also surviving are nieces and nephews from the Hodsden and Mccallister sides, and friends from all the various phases of her life.

The funeral service will be held on Friday, January 30, 2026 at 10 am at St. John Chrysostom Byzantine Catholic Church with Fr. Robert Jager officiating with burial to follow at Resurrection Cemetery. Family and friends may visit at Shaw-Davis Funeral Home, Clintonville Chapel (4341 North High Street, Columbus, OH 43214) on Thursday, January 29, 2026, from 4 pm to 6 pm. For those unable to attend the visitation on Thursday, a brief viewing will also be available at St.John Chrysostom Byzantine Catholic Church from approximately 9:30 am until the start of the service at 10 am.

Online condolences may be sent to https://www.shaw-davis.com. As an alternative to flowers, family and friends may also consider a donation to Kobacker House where Mary Ann and her family received beautiful and loving end-of-life care and support.