Mabel Maria (Knott) Mattingly, 87, of Abell, peacefully died April 9, 2012 in Leonardtown, MD. Born August 1, 1924 in Oakley, she was the daughter of the late Katie M. (Quade) Knott and John Louis Knott.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas Ford Mattingly, whom she married April 23, 1944 in Sacred Heart Church, Bushwood, MD.

She was the mother of Thomas G. Mattingly, Joseph Ford Mattingly and Wanda Mattingly Norris. She was mother-in-law to Teresa Rae Mattingly and Anthony William Norris. She was the grandmother to Jennifer Suite, Tiffany Richards, Elisa Mattingly and Jacob Mattingly, and great-grandmother to Brody and Gabriel Richards.

Mabel was preceded in death by her sisters and brothers; Mary Elsie Lacey, Agnes Maude Howard, Joseph Ambrose Knott, Clarence Guy Knott, Walter Chester Knott and Arthur Louis Knott.

A lifelong St. Mary's County resident, Mabel graduated from Margaret Brent High School in 1942, and worked at Duke's Restaurant before marrying Ford. In later years, she worked as a nursing assistant at St. Mary's Nursing Center and continued to assist the elderly with the Office on Aging. An active member of her church, Holy Angels, she was a member of the Altar Society, the Sodality and worked church dinners until her health failed. Mabel enjoyed cooking, special meals for her family and friends, crabbing, crocheting, Wheel of Fortune and growing flowers.

The family will receive friends in the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, Leonardtown, MD on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 from 5:00-8:00 PM with prayers recited at 6:30 PM and Our Lady of Fatima's Sodality Prayers to follow. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, April 12, 2012 at 10:00 AM with Fr. Michael Tietjen officiating. Interment will follow in Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery, Bushwood, MD. Pallbearers will be: Bernard McGill, Mike Huseman, Cheryl Knott, Bobby Suite, Chris Richards, and Jacob Mattingly. Honorary pallbearers will be: Betty Jean Cusic.

Contributions can be made to the Seventh District Volunteer Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 7 Avenue, MD 20609.

Arrangements provided by the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, P.A.