Mary Julia Shute, 85, passed away peacefully on Thursday, June 5, 2025, at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, surrounded by family. Funeral services are at 11:00 AM on Friday, June 27, at Wilson and Knight Funeral Home, with visitation from 10:00 AM until the time of the service. Interment will follow in Odd Fellows Cemetery in Greenwood, Mississippi. The Reverend Ben Butler will officiate the services.

Mary Julia was born to Howard Augustus and Gertrude Mitchell Shute and grew up in Greenwood, Mississippi. She graduated from Greenwood High School in 1958 and Mississippi State College for Women in 1962. She taught in Greenville for two years, and after receiving a scholarship from the National Junior Auxiliary, Mary Julia furthered her education by receiving a Master of Science from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1965, where she earned a Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology. She continued her lifetime career as a speech and language pathologist in the Hattiesburg School District. Miss Shute was a charter member of the Mississippi Speech and Hearing Association, a member of the American Speech and Hearing Association, and a member of both Delta Kappa Gamma and Alpha Delta Kappa honorary organizations. Upon her retirement, Mary Julia returned to Greenwood after completing 40 years of service in the Hattiesburg School District.

Mary Julia was a lifelong member of First United Methodist Church in Greenwood and a member of the Chakchiuma Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Mary Julia was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her brother, Howard Patterson Shute, and his wife, Mary, of Tigard, Oregon (formerly from Greenwood); her niece, Susan Shute Sullivan, of Lake Oswego, Oregon; and her great nephews, Patrick Augustus Sullivan and Walter Hewitt Sullivan, also of Lake Oswego, Oregon.

Pallbearers will be Britt Mitchell, Clint Young, Jay Mitchell, Colby Mitchell, Eric Dowell, Andrew Nobile, Michael Galey, and Michael Barrentine. Honorary Pallbearers are Will King Knight and Mike Barth.

The family would like to extend appreciation to Adoration Hospice of Grenada, MS, for their compassion and support, and to her devoted caregivers.

Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.