Phenomenal Woman: Mary Ella Walton

It’s hard to come up with the right words to describe this indescribable woman. 

Mary Ella Walton sang in Ireland and Russia with the Marygrove Choir, organized tours of the Mediterranean Sea and Europe, authored short stories, created music curricula, served as advisor to Wayne State University’s chapter of the Delta Omicron International Music Fraternity, and received a commendation from Pope John Paul II for her contributions to music in Southeastern Michigan. 

But most of all, my Mom is a woman whom I like to call the Pied Piper of People: As she walks down the Avenue of Life, people flock to her, benefiting from her wisdom, brilliance, unearthly strength, sincerity, integrity, much fussing, and love. She has impacted far too many lives to name, even since she was young. As my Dad used to say, “People just love her.” 

Allow me to introduce my life-long best friend.

Professor Mary Ella Walton was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the oldest child of Archie and Willie May Walton. She was raised as an only child, because her younger brother did not survive birth. Both of her parents were entrepreneurs. “They had a shared shop. On one side was his shoe shop; on the other side was her hair shop," she said. 

At age two, Mary moved to Detroit to live with her maternal grandmother, Mary Spraggins (for whom she was named), and her aunt, Viola Davie. This, they hoped, would help her avoid growing up around the overt prejudices that faced Blacks living in the South. A child of extremely high intellect, Mary benefitted from living with older adults, becoming a voracious reader, a celebrated storyteller and piano prodigy. Professor Walton described the next eleven years of her life:

My world consisted of my maternal grandmother and aunt and the neighbors, who were Canadian. My time was spent playing board games with my grandmother.  Because of that I learned simple arithmetic, reading and other skills before I started school. My companions were my books. I had a huge box in the basement; my books were waist-high, (to an adult’s waist). 

Mary’s innate musical abilities were evident even as a baby. According to family stories, when the choir sang during church services, her clapping was always rhythmically correct, no matter how complicated the pattern! Unfortunately, these natural talents were not nurtured when she began taking formal lessons. 

“I started piano lessons at eight years old. I was classically trained," she said. "My teacher told my grandmother not to let me play anything rhythmically, only read the classical page.” It was not until later that she became adept at gospel, jazz, pop and ragtime in addition to classical music.

Maintaining a close relationship with her parents, even while living in Detroit, she returned to Memphis at thirteen. Recalling how they went out of their way to make sure she felt at home, Mary said, “I remember that my mother bought a four-poster bed for me. In hindsight, it was like they turned themselves inside out to make sure I was comfortable.” While they enjoyed their time together, she ultimately returned to Detroit to complete her education, and graduated from Northern High School.

Early Aspirations and a Return To Her Roots

“I wanted to grow up and discover ways to utilize food to cure children of allergies and other ailments that I suffered from when I was little," she said. "I wanted to be a nutritionist. In the interim, I got married and had three children.” 

With her third child not yet born, Mary and her husband separated when her then two children were ages five and two. Her grandmother and aunt looked after them while she attended school, but, “I had to stop and come home for awhile. I had two children at the time, and my folks could not handle them. I returned to music.” She had previous experience teaching piano and producing programs at her home church, the historic Second Baptist, thus was quickly hired by several churches, first as the resident organist/pianist and eventually as Director of Music.

Following the death of Mary’s beloved grandmother, her mother moved to Detroit permanently, helping to raise her now three grandchildren. Mrs. Willie May Walton, a public speaker and sought-after spiritual leader, started an inter-denominational prayer circle, which included Mary. Always a natural leader, Mary soon found herself heading a group of talented singers and musicians from this prayer group, becoming their music director, composer and producer, and naming them the Melzarian Choral (“It was a name from the Bible, but I can’t recall where”). They performed throughout the metro-Detroit area, including the Scottish Rights Cathedral in the Masonic Temple. Under Mary’s leadership many of the members began composing songs for the first time. The music was unique, and considered by some as a forerunner to the contemporary Gospel music heard today. 

Dreams Realized

Completing school always remained a goal. Over the years, due to life distractions and emotional ups and downs, some professors assumed that Professor Walton was not smart enough to earn a degree. One actually suggested that she give up trying! Fortunately, her mother never stopped believing in her, and made sure that she was able to take advantage of workshops and courses (including Westminster Choir College at Princeton), which would eventually help toward the completion of a Bachelors degree.

Willie May also made sure that Mary could provide years of flute and violin lessons for her three children, and she would frequently accompany them during performances. At a Marygrove College recital, while accompanying her oldest daughter, Michelle, (who was minoring in music), the head of the Music Department was so impressed with her piano playing, that she insisted Professor Walton pursue a degree. In 1989, Mary became the college’s first student to graduate with a Pedagogy degree in Music. She then quickly obtained her Masters in Learning Styles, and was one of the top students in her program. 

“I remember the professor had all the other students pattern their papers after mine," she said.

A Life Long Passionate Commitment to Children Continues

Mary’s passionate commitment and dedication to children, helping them and their parents see them for the gifted, brilliant beings that they are, has never waivered. Since completing her Masters degree, she created Marella’s Music, which was first taught at the Center for Creative Studies and then at Marygrove College. She continues to teach all ages and levels, both privately and at Marygrove, with a full load of students plus a waiting list. 

Professor Walton serves as the primary keyboardist for Celeste Productions, Inc., having appeared on the album “No Limits”, is part of her daughter Angela’s music trio, accompanies the recreational group that her daughter, Michelle, founded, the Violin Divas, and continues to perform as a soloist as well. Her most recent endeavor involves serving on the board of the Detroit charter school, Freedom Academy. I cannot think of a more beautiful woman to present during this Mother’s Day season, than my own Mom … a Phenomenal Michigan Woman.

Phenomenal Michigan Woman: Jada Wright-Green - Persistence, Passion, Perseverance

“I’m a Southern Belle living in the Mid-West”, the creator of HeritageSalon.com proudly proclaims. Meet Jada Wright-Greene, a woman who is passionate about the subject of Museum Studies, and in particular, African American museums and their promotion within America’s Black communities. 

Born in Philadelphia, her early experiences shaped the leader she would become. As a child, her values were heavily influenced by Southern traditions and respect for history, through her maternal grandmother’s involvement in activities such as cotillions, and her mother’s yearly trips. Every summer, during vacations from school, she and her mother would travel, and each trip always involved a city tour. These activities planted the seeds that would grow into a love of history, historic architecture and specifically, Black history. 

When Jada was fifteen, she took a college tour, and fell in love with historic homes. But, despite this passion, her initial focus as a college freshman was elsewhere. “Ever since I was little, I thought about being a lawyer. It was just something that I always thought I wanted to be," she said. But, it did not take long before, “I realized that it was not what I wanted to do in life”, after all.

Phenomenal Michigan Woman: Marcia C. Davis - Counselor, Professor, Scholar, Mother, Ageless Pioneer

Soon-to-be Ph.D. Marcia C. Davis, began life in New York, but grew up in Detroit. Her father worked at Ford Automobile Company, and her mother worked at Saks Fifth Avenue, Henry Ford Hospital, and retired from the Board of Education as a chief cook at Murray Wright High School.

“I was closer to my dad than to my mother. She was a disciplinarian, he was easier to talk to. She could handle some money, though. She always believed in paying herself first," she said.

Davis recalled having many sibling relationships ... yet she was an only child! Her aunt had eight children, and Davis said, “She really claimed me as her ninth child.” Then, at age 11, her life suddenly changed: Her parents divorced, and she and her mother moved to another part of the city.

Although she maintained close relationships with her father and cousins, “It was sort of traumatic for me. Where we moved, at that time, there were mainly Greeks living in that part of Detroit. We were among the first Black family to move there. Suddenly, I had no friends, no family.” Eventually, however, she developed close friendships with two of her new peers, Athena and Andy. 

Determination, Drive, Flexibility, Focus

Marcia’s life continued to take unexpected turns. “I wanted to be a medical doctor. I became pregnant when I was fifteen years old. In those days, they didn’t have a place for young mothers (to receive an education). I had to come out of school, but got my GED.”

Research and Evaluation Expert, Educator, Scholar, Vocalist, Wife, Mother: Dr. Sharonlyn G. Harrison - A Phenomenal Michigan Woman

Walk into the elegant Suite 610 at 24901 Northwestern Highway in Southfield, Michigan, and you immediately sense that the warm yet professional atmosphere of Public Research & Evaluation Services, Inc. is a direct reflection of its founder, President and CEO, Dr. Sharonlyn G. Harrison.

Raised by loving parents and very close to her only sibling, a brother who is sixteen months her senior, Dr. Harrison recalls a solid foundation during her childhood. Her young parents lead by example and were quite savvy about finances. “My father was an automobile worker. My mother worked at Hudson’s, so we didn’t’ have a hard time (financially). They were in their twenties and owned their own home and rented. They were loving parents. My mom gave you that exactness. If you say it, then do it. Don’t be afraid to go back and try again.”

When it came to school, Sharonlyn recalled that she always loved learning. “My parents were laid back. They just gave us words of wisdom, without constant reminders. But I was always interested in learning. I loved school. In the eleventh grade, I went on a field trip to Northville Hospital. I saw many children with special needs. My classmates were uncomfortable, but I was very comfortable. I asked my teacher what kind of profession would allow me to work with children who needed extra help, and was told, Special Education.” After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Education in 1978, she remained deeply involved in the Special Education field for many years.

Psychologist, Educator, Public Speaker, Author , Advocate - Dr. Tanya Martin: A Phenomenal Michigan Woman

Join us as we welcome new columnist Dr. Angela May, a talented and accomplished Michigan woman in her own right, who will be joining us every month with Phenomenal Michigan Women. Dr. May will profile Michigan women you may not know - but should!

A Passion for Helping Others

Dr. Tanya Martin always had a passion for helping people. And, although she did not know what form this desire would take, the idea that working hard in school to obtain her goals was ingrained from her earliest memory. “My mother worked a lot. She modeled for us hard work. She never made us believe that it (accomplishments) would be easy.” Her parents married young, and separated young. As a result, her mother raised Tanya, her older brother and younger sister, as a single parent. Always close with her siblings, she stated, “The three of us have our own special relationship."

Tanya, a native of Detroit, Michigan, recalled that at age thirteen, a teacher described several professions to her class. When psychology was mentioned, she was intrigued. “I had never heard of it. But as he described it, I realized that that was what I was meant to do. It never varied (after that).”  Majoring in psychology and minoring in sociology at Marygrove College, she earned a Bachelors Degree in 1988, and a Masters Degree in clinical and humanistic psychology from the Center for Humanistic Studies (CHS) in 1991. In addition to working with individuals, she developed a passion for treating couples. Tanya became an expert in the use of Imago relationship therapy, a form of treatment considered very effective in helping couples with relationship challenges.