City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation
Obituary
Mary Jo Mizelle
Raleigh, North Carolina
Age 90.
Died 09/10/2025.
Mary Jo Mizelle, 90, beloved mother, “granma,” aunt, sister and friend, affectionately known as “MJ” to many, left us peacefully on September 10, 2025.
Born in Florence, SC on October 24, 1934, she was the first child of the late Hadley T. and Louise W. Kelly. At the age of nine, after tragically losing her mother, Mary Jo along with her three younger siblings were placed at Thornwell Orphanage in Clinton, SC, a place of divine refuge which had profound effects on her life. As a teen she lived in Charlotte, NC with her loving uncle and aunt, the late Walter and Vernelle Smith. After graduating from Harding High School she met her first husband, David E. McLendon, Sr. Their marriage brought into her life “chosen parents”, the late Ralph H. and Dorothy S. McLendon, who loved her as their own daughter.
Mary Jo spent many wonderful years living on Lake Tillery with her second husband F. Carroll Mizelle, Sr. After his death she moved to Raleigh, NC where her life was richly blessed by all her friends at Providence Church. Her faith in Christ grew and deepened during these years.
Mary Jo is preceded in death by her siblings, Edna Kelly Horne, Edgar W. Kelly and Thomas C. Kelly.
Mary Jo is survived by her children Dottie Haynes (Bob), Susan Long (Brent), and David McLendon; grandchildren Christopher Haynes (Alex), Wesley Haynes (Sally), Jonathan Long (Bailey), and Farrah McLendon; great-granddaughter Josie Long; many special nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, and amazing friends.
The events of her life coupled with her strong faith in Jesus shaped her into a loving, fun, big-hearted, and joyous woman. She was one of those people who made those around her know that they mattered and were important. Throughout her dementia journey she was always appreciative to her caregivers and would often say, “I love you,” “you’re beautiful,” or “give me a kiss.” She would also not hesitate to say what was on her mind and could sometimes be “spicy.”
The family enjoyed many “MaryJo-isms” such as “shoot a monkey” (instead of “*!@&%”); “Does a monkey have a climbing gear?” (when the answer should be obvious, such as being asked if she was ready to eat or wanted some chocolate); and most importantly “God has never dropped me!”
Her legacy is defined by empathy for others, desire to make the lives of those around her better and her zest for life. While she would refer to herself at times as “a hot mess” (and she was often right about that), and sometimes would declare that she was “frosted” over what someone said or did; she never strayed from her core value to love and respect first, ask questions later. It is impossible to put into words what an amazing mother, grandmother, aunt, sister, or friend that she was. We will do well to follow her example of faith, love and care.
In honor of her legacy and in lieu of flowers please show kindness to others, love unconditionally, feed the hungry, care for the marginalized and demonstrate the love of Christ to all. Mary Jo showed us how to love BIG!
The family would like to express our sincere gratitude to the staff at Our Promise Care Homes Falls Church and Heartland Hospice for their love and care to our precious mother.
“How lucky I am having something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” (A. A. Milne)
For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.
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City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.
Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.
Our Promise
Apples to Apples
Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.
The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.
Genuine Care
We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.
Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.
We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.
State Wide
Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.
Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.
Our Services
$1196.75
Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.
$2875.66
We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.
$1917.84
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.
$1596.75
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation with a private family viewing. A private family viewing allows up to 10 immediate family members or friends to spend time with a loved one when a public visitation is not preferred.
$2497.50
An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.
$6081.48
We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.
$3033.75
This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.
$2640.59
As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home also offers Aquamation. The Aquamation process, often referred to as alkaline hydrolysis, uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.