Mary E. Boggs

Mary Elizabeth Boggs, beloved mother, age 93, passed away gently on Tuesday evening, October 21, 2008, after a courageous 15-year struggle with Parkinson's Disease. Mary was born on September 30, 1915 in New York City. She came to Minneapolis as part of the Orphan Train program in 1916, where she was adopted by her parents George and Mary Bugbee. She graduated from Minneapolis' Roosevelt High School in 1934, and went to work for Northern States Power Company, continuing there until she moved to Appleton. While volunteering at the USO in 1944, she met Lawrence Boggs, who had come to Fort Savage in Minnesota to study Japanese as an army translator with the Military Intelligence Service. They married on May 24, 1947, after Lawrence completed his military service, and were together for 46 years until his death in 1993. After Lawrence completed his Ph.D. studies at the University of Minnesota, he and Mary moved to Appleton in 1952, where he worked as a research chemist at the Institute of Paper Chemistry. In Appleton, Mary worked at Wisconsin Telephone until she became pregnant with her daughter. Mary later worked part-time at First National Bank, and for more than two decades was a friendly and supportive voice to the people of the Fox River Valley as an answering service operator at TelSec (formerly Telephone Secretaries), until retiring at age 76. Mary was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Catholic Daughters, the Monte Alverno Retreat Guild, and the Third Order of St. Dominic. She enjoyed travelling to many parts of the U.S., Europe and Japan; attending plays, concerts and other cultural events; and will be remembered for her intelligent observations and subtle humor.

She is survived by her daughter, Catherine Boggs and son-in-law Larry Martinez of Santa Barbara, CA; her sister-in-law Violet Westerlund of Bainbridge Island, WA, her cousin Lucille Kelly and her four children in Minneapolis, as well as her dear friends Josephine Doyle, Dorothy Balent, and Marilyn Bergner.

The funeral liturgy to celebrate Mary's life will be held on Saturday, October 25, 2008, at 11:00 am, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 222 E. Fremont Street in Appleton with Fr. Thomas Meulemans officiating. Friends may call at the church on Saturday morning from 10:00 AM until 11:00 AM. Her ashes will be interred along with those of her husband at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. Memorial gifts may be made in Mary's name to the Wisconsin Parkinson Association, 945 North 12th Street, Suite 4602, Milwaukee, WI 53233.

Special thanks to all of her loving caretakers during the last years of her life at home, Heritage Woods Assisted Living Center, and Peabody Manor, especially Kelly Retzlaff, Michelle Liesch, Ellie Mueller, Maria Sedlacek, Deb Campbell, Danielle Bonde, Cindy Richie and, Cindy Jentz. And special blessings to Mary and Mike Larson and their family for their friendship and support.

Wichmann Funeral Home
537 N. Superior Street
Appleton, WI 54911
920 739 1231