Mary Agnes Fuller Applegate, who passed away on March 1, 2009 at the University Medical Center at Princeton, was born on January 17, 1917 in Marion, Kentucky. She was the third born of eight children of Ambie Moore Fuller and T.N. Fuller. As a child, Mary enjoyed life in Frances, a unique farming community in western Kentucky, where she helped on the family farm, enjoyed riding horses and exploring nature. She also enjoyed music, singing in the church choir and playing the piano. The central features of the village were the Frances School grades 1-12, a Presbyterian Church and the Lafayette spar mine operation that provided good paying jobs and electricity to the community.

Educated in the Frances Schools and at Murray State University, Mary returned to teach elementary school in Frances in 1939. During a visit to the area in 2003 she met with some former students who shared mementoes with their teacher.

Mary met her husband, Lewis R. Applegate, in college. They married in 1941 in Asbury Park, NJ. After a series of moves due to wartime, the couple settled permanently in Princeton in 1947. Mary was a mother, raising three children, Ridge Applegate, Connie Schatz and Judy Strand. Though her primary focus was homemaking, she taught at the Kingston school in the early 50's. Mary was talented in many areas, including oil painting, sewing, gardening and cooking. She also wrote a memoir called, "The Things I Didn't Learn in Kindergarten", which includes captivating essays of her early experiences in rural Kentucky. Mary was a long-time member of Nassau Presbyterian Church, and a member of the Present Day Club. She is survived by three of her siblings, Marjorie Fox, William Fuller and Hazel Miles, as well as her three children, a daughter-in-law, Olivia Applegate, and son- in- law, Jack Strand, five grandchildren and four great grandchildren. She will be in our hearts and greatly missed.

A viewing will be held from 10am until 11:30am on Friday March 6th at the Kimble Funeral Home, One Hamilton Ave in Princeton followed by burial at Trinity-All Saints Cemetery. A memorial service will be held at the Niles Chapel of the Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton at 3pm.