A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, March 7, 2025, at East Tennessee Veterans Cemetery on Lyons View Pike for Mary G. Baumgartner, who passed away at her home in late December at age 90. She will be laid to rest with her husband, retired Lt. Col. Richard “Stan” Baumgartner who died in October 2007 at age 83. Both attended Temple Baptist Church in Powell.
Mrs. Baumgartner is survived by four sons and their families. The full obituary is here.
She is the published author of “Wonderful World of Watercolor: Learning and Loving Transparent Watercolor” (2008) which remains available on Amazon.com.
She said of the book: “Many years ago before I decided to teach, I too was a struggling artist, taking workshops across the country, crying over my lack of success, and always listening for words and phrases that might help me grow. If there was a new book on the market, I had to own it, good or bad.
“Unfortunately, many of the workshops I attended just gave me a new reason for failure. I’ll never forget one teacher saying in front of the class: ‘If you paint every day, five days a week, for five years, you may turn out one or two paintings that are good enough to show.’ This is when I decided that one day I would teach. This was the most discouraging sentence I heard during all the years I studied art before becoming a teacher.”
Mary was quite plucky, asking, “Is there a rule someplace that every artist has to suffer a certain number of hours and months and years before they can exhibit their work or feel a satisfaction about what they have done?”
Mary Baumgartner brought her joy to all the students she touched. She was very active in the early days of the Fountain City Art Center, for instance. In retirement, Mary and Stan lived in the Alice Bell neighborhood of North Knoxville. Married for 50-plus years, they had lived an adventure, traveling with his military career. A West Point graduate, he had an MBA from Harvard Business School, LLD from LaSalle University, and MPA from the University of Southern California. He was an accomplished clarinetist and played in the National Concert Band of America while living in Washington, D.C.
Retired principal Dr. Charlotte K Dorsey (Bearden Elementary, Giffin) wrote: “After my own retirement I enrolled in Mary’s watercolor classes. She gave me a beautiful gift in her instruction that I continue to use each day. The ladies in Fountain City will not forget her. A wonderful soul! Rest in peace, Mary.”
