Mary Muse in 2017 at a restaurant near Gruene Music Hall, New Braunfels, Texas. “She knew I would love Gruene,” says Nina Simmons of Muse’s love of hospitality. (Photo courtesy of Nina Simmons)
Mary Kathleen Muse, 67, who retired from the venue industry in 2012 to run the Kerrville (Texas) Folk Festival with her husband Bill, passed away Jan. 23 in San Angelo, Texas. Muse is remembered by many for her joyful spirit, magnetic personality, and passion for people.
She was a mentor and friend to Lynda Reinhart, CVE, O’Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla., who met Muse when she first joined IAVM. “She helped me learn the ropes,” Reinhart said, adding that they have been close friends ever since, even after Muse left the association. Reinhart loved that “Mary always spoke her mind.”
Her last venue role was as Director for The Adams Center at the University of Montana in Missoula from 2002-2012. Muse was an active member of IAVM from 2001-2012, serving on numerous committees, including Certification, Universities and External Affairs.
Born Feb. 5 in Amarillo, Texas, Muse died just two weeks shy of her 68th birthday. Her husband circulated the following tribute the next day:
“By now, most of you know — Mary Kathleen Muse died last night at 6:30 p.m. in San Angelo, Texas. Mary was born February 5, 1958, in Amarillo, Texas. She died just two weeks shy of her 68th birthday. In between, Mary lived a full, rich life.
Mary loved people above all else. Although we have little in financial terms, Mary and I have considered ourselves very wealthy by virtue of the treasures of friendship and love of so many incredible people. Because of her beautiful open heart, Mary had the amazing ability to draw a diverse and eclectic group of people to her everywhere she went. And she truly saw the beauty and the worth in everyone, so she did not discard anyone, but rather held them in her heart and in her memory forever. She touched countless lives, and she cherished them all.”
IAVM’s Nina Simmons is among those she touched and kept. Simmons met Muse at IAVM, and was planning to visit Feb. 10 to help the Muses as Mary battled cancer. Simmons will never forget the fun they had at IAVM meetings. One memory took place at VenueConnect in Anaheim, when the two were among members gathered in the hotel ballroom when an earthquake struck. Neither was from “earthquake country,” Simmons recalls, so they were struggling to remember what to do. They looked at doorways (‘get under a doorway,’ they say), but there were too many people to crowd there. They headed to an emergency stairway, which they knew, as venue professionals, would be reinforced. They were surprised when they learned that the stairway is also built to sway, an architectural precaution in California.
Their adventure finally led them outdoors, where they spotted another conference group, all police officers, exiting another hotel. “We
Nina Simmons, Carol Moore, CVE, Susette Hunter, Mary Muse, CVE, and Janie Jones on vacation at Ocracoke Island, N.C., Nov. 3, 2018. (Photo courtesy of Nina Simmons)
thought, ‘they know what to do; we’re going where they go,’” Simmons chuckles. They all ended up huddled on an island in the middle of the divided roadway and had a grand time.
Reinhart, Simmons, Carol Moore, CVE, and Muse are all among an informal subset of the IAVM family known as the Kudzu Queens, named after an invasive vine that also has medicinal benefits. Moore recalls the KQ gatherings, an annual event at IAVM and other times during the year. Mary loved to host the Kudzu Queens in Texas, showing off her stomping grounds and the Kerrville Folk Festival. “She was so articulate,” Moore remembers.
Bill continued:
“She loved all of you just as dearly as we all love her. I use the present tense because our love for this beautiful woman will never die.
Mary’s love of music was boundless. From her earliest years, hearing Western Swing and Country music performed by her Dad, Hal Williams, through her childhood learning to sing and create harmonies in the Church of Christ, to the years we spent through the 1990an s traveling and performing together, to the years that were a labor of love, leading the Kerrville Folk Festival, music was always an essential part of Mary’s life.
Indeed, The Festival, as she always referred to it, reflected everything that was important to Mary. It values people of every background and identity, it is the birthplace, the nursery, and the hallowed hall of original music. As you all know, it was the place we met, and it was the place we fell in love, and it redefined us for the rest of our lives, connecting us not only with each other, but with the friends that we hold so dear.
Mary loved laughter. And she operated with the philosophy that a good martini or a glass of fine wine and a smoke, along with thoughtfully crafted music were oils that made life run smoothly. She never really gave up smoking, try as she might. Although never consumed by alcohol, she certainly enjoyed consuming it with good friends. She also considered herself a foodie, and most of our most cherished memories as a couple were wrapped around a great meal.
Along with her chosen family, Mary loved her birth family as well. She is survived by her mother, Barbara Williams, her brother, Ron Williams, a niece, a nephew, and many cousins. Mary’s cousin Steve and his wife Ilse are 2 of our dearest friends. She is also survived by her beloved Jackson and by me. I should tell you that she was able to spend her last night cuddling with Jackson [their pet dog].”
Moore remembers Bill and Mary as The Two Muses, performing in Kerrville after their touring days in the 90s. Her musicianship was a gift and a passion. “She took the Kerrville Festival to a whole new level with her music and venue backgrounds,” Moore said. Moore was so looking forward to the chance to celebrate 68 with Mary Muse on that Feb. 10 trip, but it was not to be.
Bill concluded:
“I have loved this beautiful woman since 1993, and my love for her is the core of my being. I have tried to express my love to her in song many times, but never adequately. On the last day of her life I held her hand for hours and hours and whispered my boundless love to her, but it was not enough. I can’t help thinking of the countless moments in the past 32 years that I could have told her, could have shown her better. I just hope that she understood how deeply loved and beautiful she was.
Please hold her in your hearts and celebrate this rare and remarkable person.”
