Mary Jo Pons, matriarch of Maryland's Country Life Farm, passed away Monday evening at Bright View Assisted Living in Bel Air. She was 87. A native of Baltimore, Pons began her career hosting radio broadcasts of fashion shows and, during the 1960s, she owned Petticoat Lane, a women's dress shop.
Combining a love of radio and her hometown, Pons served as a WBAL Radio Call-for-Action volunteer in the 1970s and she hosted a classical music broadcast from Harford Community College, her soothing voice explaining the musical history behind her selections. For two decades, she served as executive director of the Radio Reading Network of Maryland. Her tireless efforts found a perfect home for the organization at the Maryland School for the Blind on Taylor Avenue near Parkville, and resulted in endowments from generous supporters and volunteers.
Mary Jo was introduced to her future husband at a cocktail party in Harford County. She correctly answered a question relating to the New York Giants' quarterback Y. A. Tittle, nemesis of the Baltimore Colts.
“Bet you don't know what his initials stand for?” Joe Pons challenged her. “Bet I do,” she answered. “Yelberton Abraham.”
They were married on Aug. 26, 1950.
At her home on the farm, Mary Jo cared for her ailing in-laws, raised five children, and became famous for her gracious Preakness Parties, held on the Thursday before the big race at Pimlico each year.
Pons's Preakness Party tradition began in 1961, when a horse named Carry Back, sired by Country Life stallion Saggy, won the Kentucky Derby, and arrived in Baltimore to prepare for the Preakness S. On the trail of a potential Triple Crown winner, sportswriters flocked to Pimlico. Mary Jo invited them to Country Life. Among them were Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Red Smith, New York Times racing columnist Joe Nichols, CBS radio announcers Win Elliot and Jack Whitaker, as well as prominent Baltimore racing writers Joe Kelly, Dale Austin, and Bill Boniface. “They looked hungry,” she explained, “and so I invited them to Country Life for a home-cooked meal.”
Predeceased by her husband of 55 years, Pons is survived by five children: Norah, Andrew, Josh, Michael, and Alice Pons; and six grandchildren: Karianna Brace, Philip, Elizabeth, Josh, David, and August Pons.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Radio Reading Network of Maryland, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, located at 3501 Taylor Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland, 21236.
A memorial celebration in Mary Jo's honor will be held at Country Life Farm at noon on Sunday, April 9, the day before her 88th birthday.
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