Mable Hughes Stapleswas born on June 28, 1920 in Geneva County, Alabama, the daughter of Charles Hughes and Margaret Eugenia Rountree. She enjoyed an active childhood in her small south Alabama farming community. After graduating from high school, she completed her nursing education at Emery University and Grady Memorial Hospital before joining the Army Nurses Corps in September, 1942. She served overseas with the Emory University unit in North Africa, Italy and France as a nurse anesthesiologist treating battle casualties. During her overseas tour of duty, she met O. Sherwin Staples, an orthopedic surgeon stationed with the Massachusetts General Evacuation Hospital. The couple courted across two continents, marrying in Dothan, Alabama on December 11, 1945. Immediately after their marriage, they moved to Hanover, New Hampshire, where Dr. Staples joined the staff of Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital.

Mable Staples delighted in her full life in Hanover. In 1950, she and her husband built a home in the beautiful woods of Balch Hill where they raised their two children, Katherine and Thomas. Mable Staples was active in community, church, and hospital activities. With her husband, she became an expert angler, fishing in Spain, Ireland, Scotland, Iceland, Canada, Mexico, and Australia. Interests in art and history led the couple to explore Great Britain, Guatemala, Mexico, Thailand, and Australia, as well as Europe. Mable Staples' most beloved destination always remained Florence, a beautiful city she never tired of exploring.

Always active and a lover of the outdoors, Mable Staples became an outstanding senior golfer, enjoying the course at the Hanover Country Club and the other beautiful courses on which she played.

Mable Hughes Staples leaves behind a life lived fully, actively, and joyfully -- and the many people she knew and valued on her long journey. She is survived by her children, Katherine and Thomas.

Donations in Mable Staples' memory can be made to the Balch Hill Fund of the Hanover Conservancy, 16 Buck Road, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755.

Arrangements were under the direction of the Rand-Wilson Funeral Home of Hanover, NH