Mary Lee Boosinger

Mary Lee Boosinger, 91, of Richmond Virginia and Sarasota Florida, passed away peacefully in Sarasota on July 26, 2026, surrounded by her loving family. Born in Greenwood, Mississippi on February 12, 1935, she was the daughter of the late John William Forbess and Anna Durst Forbess. The Forbess family moved to Miami, Florida in 1948, and Mary Lee attended Miami High School with two of her late brothers James Forbess and Thomas Forbess. During her early years in Miami, Mary Lee traveled with her mother and father most summers to Little Rock, Arkansas, where the Durst Family resides. Mary Lee married Robert Wiley Wright in 1955, and they raised two children, Glenn and Debbie, giving them a beautiful childhood in that beautiful place. Mary worked at Florida Power and Light for 15 years and Bob Wright was a firefighter on the City of Miami Fire Department. After the passing of Bob Wright in 1977, Mary Lee remarried to the late Frank Boosinger (MSgt US Air Force) of Bradford, Pennsylvania, and they moved to Richmond, Virgina. Mary Lee worked at the Virginia Department of Taxation for over 25 years, retiring in the year 2000. During that time, she also lovingly cared for her mother and father in their last years at her home for over 15 years. Mary Lee was very active in retirement. She loved embroidery and gardening, and she loved spending time with her two grandchildren John Wright Ward and Leah Mei Ward. She was a devout Catholic and was a parishioner of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Richmond for many years. Mary Lee moved to Sarasota Florida in 2024 to be closer to her family there. Mary Lee will be lovingly remembered as the mother and mother-in-law of Debra (Debbie) Wright Ward and Richard Ward and Rodney Glenn Wright and Jo-Anne Matteo; sister of her late brothers William, Donald, James, and Thomas; and loving grandmother of John Wright Ward and Leah Mei Ward. Private visiting hours will be held on Saturday from 1-3 PM at the Toale Brothers Funeral Home at 40 North Orange Avenue, Sarasota, Florida. A graveside service will be held at Oakland & Fraternal and Historic Cemetery Park in Little Rock, Arkansas at 1 PM on Friday August 21. A memorial Mass will be held at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Richmond, Virginia on Saturday October 10 at 9 AM. Contributions in Mary Lee’s memory may be made to St. Jude Children's Hospital, www.stjude.org. To share a message of condolence, please visit www.toalebrothers.com.

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Mary Lee Boosinger

February 12, 1935 - July 26, 2026