NATCHEZ &045; When Joan McFarland walked off the floor when her Ferriday Lady Trojans won the state title in 1996, she heard people calling her name.

&uot;’Joan Thomas! Joan Thomas!’ Who is this calling me by my maiden name?&uot; McFarland thought.

It was her old coach from her playing days at Newellton, longtime Natchez High head coach Mary Irving.

&uot;(Assistant) Sue Johnson and Mrs. Irving were up in the stands,&uot; McFarland said during a Tuesday memorial to honor Irving, the longtime basketball coach who passed away Thursday following a lengthy illness.

&uot;Up in the stands, second row of the Rapides Coliseum, she was throwing kisses. She was there for me just like she said she would be. I’m so thankful for Mrs. Irving. She saw something in me. She took time out with me. Had it not been for here, where would I be?&uot;

McFarland was one of several who spoke of memories of Irving during the ceremony at the Natchez High gym. Irving, the first black woman voted into the Mississippi Coaches Hall of Fame and author of over 600 wins, spent most of her career coaching in Natchez at both NHS and North Natchez after starting at Newellton as a junior high coach in 1969.

Several coaches, former players, family members and friends of Irving attended the memorial. Funeral services are set for noon today at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church.

&uot;I have many memories,&uot; McFarland said. &uot;Sometimes I laugh, and sometimes I cry. God sent her to Newellton, La. We were a small, tight-knit community. Our families trusted us to her. If they were not there to pick us up after practice, she would bring us all home. This yearbook I’ve kept around because of two things &045; my mom has written in it and Mary Jean Irving.&uot;

The ceremony was an emotional one for many as former assistants and players spoke of their memories of Irving, a tough-love coach with a caring spirit who could always get the most out of her players and would be disappointed when they weren’t playing to their potential.

School officials hoisted on the northwest goal the giant-sized team photo of the 1992-93 state championship team that hangs in the gym lobby, one of her four teams to win a state championship in her 33 years of coaching.

&uot;I look around and see my mother was loved and she was appreciated,&uot; said Irving’s daughter, Judge Brenza Irving Jones. &uot;I want to say thank you. My mother left a legacy not many people can compare to. Not many people can talk about winning state championships. No one will ever be the first black female inducted into the Mississippi Coaches Hall of Fame. She had such a good life. God just blessed her tremendously.&uot;

Seven members of that last state championship team were in attendance, including Alexine Profice, who now coaches junior high basketball in Woodville.

Johnson, the Jackson native who left last May to coach at Murrah High School, also attended after spending many of her 21 years in Natchez alongside Irving.

&uot;When I left here last year, I went by her house and we sat down and talked for about two hours,&uot; Johnson said. &uot;She wished me well. She told me that she loved me. She was my friend and like a mother. We did have some good times. I’m so glad I’m in that (state championship) picture up there. I thank God for her and all the things she taught me.

&uot;That’s what would make her angry &045; she knew what you could do and you weren’t doing it. She was cool on that bench, but I saw her when she was nervous in those hotel rooms. Mary Irving was old school, and I miss her.&uot;

Irving, named All-Metro Coach of the Year seven times, finished her career with a 641-331 record, but it’s a spirit and efforts she put into it that former players said they’ll never forget.

&uot;I find myself mimicking lessons she taught me,&uot; Profice said. &uot;I find myself pinching not only my girls but my students when they misbehave. I also make my girls run suicides when they don’t do what they’re supposed to do because of Mrs. Irving.&uot;

School officials presented a slide show of photos and press clippings of Irving, including a report following her induction in the Hall of Fame. India Martin, a senior for this year’s Lady Bulldogs squad, presented Jones with a ball signed by all the players.