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Mary Morris Gamble Booth died on Wednesday, February 16, 2022, at Westminster Canterbury in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Born in Richmond, Virginia on December 31, 1927, she was the daughter of the late Mary Lyon Tyler Gamble and George Peterkin Gamble.

She was married to the late Augustus Lea Booth and is survived by a daughter, Mary Lyon Booth Verlin and her husband, Thomas Patrick Verlin, of Jacksonville, FL; two sons, George Lea Booth and his wife, Katharine Rixey Booth, of Richmond and Cary Gamble Booth and his wife, Jane McClure Booth, of Virginia Beach; five grandchildren, Mary Morris Verlin, Richard Whitaker Booth and his wife, Emily Walsh Booth, Alexander Tyler Booth, George Lea Booth, Jr., and Robert Gamble Booth; and one great-grand daughter, Claire Wallace Booth.

She spent her childhood in St. Louis, Missouri, returning to Virginia to attend Sweet Briar College where she participated in the first Sweet Briar Junior Year in France, was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and graduated magna cum laude in 1950.

While working for the Marshall Plan in Washington, D. C., she met her future husband, Lea Booth, who was working on Capitol Hill as Chief Clerk of the House Administration Committee. They were married in 1951.

In 1953 Mr. and Mrs. Booth moved to Lynchburg where Mr. Booth was employed as the first Executive Director of the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges.  Mrs. Booth contributed to the Lynchburg community by serving on the boards of directors of Virginia Episcopal School, Seven Hills School, Point of Honor, The Lynchburg Museum, The Lynchburg Junior League, Hillside Garden Club, and The Jefferson Choral Society.   She was a member of the Colonial Dames of Virginia and St. John’s Episcopal Church where she was a soloist and sang in the choir for forty-three years.

Mary Morris had abundant love for her family near and far and to the causes to which she was dedicated.  She shared her talents generously, singing in countless weddings and music concerts, and she brought joy, comfort, wit, and wisdom, as the occasion demanded, to her many endeavors and cherished friendships.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. John’s Episcopal Church, 205 Elmwood Avenue, Lynchburg, VA 24503; Virginia Episcopal School, 400 V. E. S. Road, Lynchburg, VA 24503; or Westminster Canterbury, 501 V. E. S. Road Lynchburg, VA 24503.

A memorial service will be held at St. John’s Episcopal Church on Saturday, February 26 at 11:00 A.M.  The service will be available by livestream at https://youtu.be/Iu3qTS35XrA.