Fox Pond courts dedicated to Mary Lloyd Hodges Barbera
May 17—HENDERSON — Throughout her 49 years of life and especially during her youth, Henderson's Mary Lloyd Hodges Barbera prolifically achieved recognition for her tennis skills. Posthumously selected to the N.C. Tennis Hall of Fame in 2016 as an ambassador, the former Peace College All-American excelled at every level of the game as a player.
Saturday's dedication of Fox Pond Park's No. 1 and 2 tennis courts in her name would not have been just another award for Mary Lloyd, her friends and family said.
"I will tell you she loved Henderson," said Kelly Gaines, the executive director of U.S. Tennis Association North Carolina. "She loved the people that were around her growing up in Henderson and I know she is thrilled to be here. This is a great honor for her. Just like her husband [Bobby Barbera] said, she has been given so many honors but this one would mean so much, because — it's Henderson."
Gaines, a Burlington native, met Mary Lloyd on the junior tennis circuit, where Mary Lloyd became the top-ranked girls player in the state in the 12s, 14s and 18s age groups.
Later in life, Gaines hired Mary Lloyd to the USTA NC staff in Greensboro, where they worked together for 15 years, when they weren't doubles partners.
Gaines spoke at Saturday's dedication, which also served as a National Tennis Month Tennis Funday through a partnership involving Henderson-Vance Recreation and Parks, Edmonds Tennis and Education Foundation and USTA NC.
Henderson City Manager Terrell Blackmon and Councilman Jason Spriggs were on hand, joined by the Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce and a number of Mary Lloyd's family members and friends, including Henderson's David Hicks and Hilda Delbridge.
Hicks and Delbridge were among those that shared their memories of Mary Lloyd, who died suddenly in 2015.
Mary Lloyd came from an athletic family that settled at Summit Road after moving from Richmond, Virginia.
Jon played at tennis for Elon and Fred at Wake Forest.
Hicks and some of the other guys in the Henderson Country Club neighborhood like Chocky White, Bev Tucker and Dr. Linga Vijaya welcomed Mary Lloyd to the courts, as long as she was on their side of the net.
"We all loved playing with her," Hicks said. "You damn sure didn't want to play against her."
Mary Lloyd went on to win a pair of interscholastic state titles for Vance High in 1981 and 1982, and after transferring to N.C. State, shined for the Wolfpack, lettering in 1986-87.
Hicks, Bobby Barbera, and Mary Lloyd's brothers Fred and Jon Hodges each cited Mary Lloyd playing in a body cast in high school as a result of a scoliosis diagnosis — and still winning — as one of the ultimate displays of her competitive spirit.
Her tenacity was one of her greatest strengths, along with her forehand, they said.
"She refused to lose, basically," said Bobby, an Appalachian State tennis Hall of Famer in his own right.
Bobby, who was married to Mary Lloyd for 20 years, said she was far more interested in growing the game than anything she achieved on the court and eventually gained a reputation as the "commissioner of fun," according to Gaines.
Jon said Mary Lloyd wanted to teach tennis, regardless of the skill level, and Recreation and Parks Director Kendrick Vann noted that made Saturday's Tennis Funday an ideal complement to the dedication ceremony. Through the help of Edmonds Foundation volunteers and Robert Hogewood of the USTA NC, youth participants ranging in ages learned the basics.
And had some fun.
"I'd say just an overall ambassador for the sport," Jon said of how his sister Mary Lloyd will be remembered. "She always represented Henderson in a graceful way. She always had a little part of Henderson in her whether she was going up to the U.S. Open or working for the North Carolina Tennis Association. She always represented Henderson as an ambassador for the sport."
