Marie Shoemaker Austin (b. May 30, 1920), precious daughter of J.Grady and Pauline Bristow Shoemaker, died January 26, 2013. Marie was a resident of McKendree Manor in Nashville, Tennessee and a former long-term resident of Birmingham, Alabama. Marie''s love of music, children, and her family defined her life. She was an accomplished pianist, organist, and vocalist. Because of those talents, she loved producing small musicals with her schoolchildren over her thirty-three year teaching career with the Jefferson County Public School System. Most of those years were spent as a sixth-grade teacher at Crumly Chapel Elementary School. Marie never met a sixth-grader with whom she didn''t immediately fall in love. Education was one of Marie''s passions. She was a graduate of Ensley High School and Birmingham-Southern College, class of 1942. She later obtained a Master''s degree in Library Science from the University of Alabama. But true to her calling, Marie remained in the classroom, preferring to blend teaching with great literature. Not a day passed without her reading aloud to her students from the latest Newbery Award-winning title. Marie taught her students the meaning of living vicariously through literature. It was at Birmingham-Southern College that Marie met and later married the love of her life, Luke Austin. They were married sixty years before his death in 2002. Over the years they developed a core group of friends that affectionately became known as "The Geritol Gang". These friends traveled often to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Nippersink Lodge in Mentone, Alabama, enjoying nature and its bounty. Marie is survived by her family: Alan and Rose Austin; Kathy and Zachary Berg; Alyssa Harper; Alexa Whitehead and Jason Martin; Larry and Andrea Whitehead; and her beloved grandpets, Mittens, Snoopy, and Sophie. To her family she has left a legacy in the strength of living a life worthy of purpose and commitment. She was the best mother and Mimi a child or grandchild could have. A celebration of Marie''s life was held at Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church on Tuesday, January 29th at 1:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers memorials may be sent to Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church "In Christ''s Name" fund, 2061 Kentucky Avenue, Birmingham, AL 35216. Bell Funeral Home directing.