Mary Lee Boales
(Marylee Boales)
April 9, 1944 - June 24, 2020
Marylee (Root) Boales 1944-2020
Marylee Boales (born Mary Lee Root in 1944) passed away at home on June 24, 2020, with the same grace and courage that she exhibited throughout her life. A native of Northern California, Marylee and her husband, Gene, moved to Southern California in late 2018 to live near their daughters. She was surrounded by them all in her final days and she left this world knowing that she was well loved.
Marylee was many things in her life, from daughter and big sister to wife, mother and grandmother, friend and mentor. Gene and Marylee met at as students at Chico State and they were married in 1967. They just celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary in January of this year.
She is survived by her husband, Gene (Finis Eugene Boales, Jr.); daughters Stacy Varner and Katelyn Gilliard, their husbands Jeff and Nick, and three beloved granddaughters, Jenny, Cora and Graycen; also her siblings Marvin Root, Gerry Root, and Vicki Stevens, all of California; her mother-in-law, Emma Boales of Anderson; and many beloved nieces, nephews, sisters- and brothers-in-law, and cousins. Marylee was the mostly obedient but always loving daughter of Loris Leo Root and Mary Helen Wheeler Root, both deceased.
Marylee started her career as an English teacher Colusa High School and then taught junior high at Chico Christian School for many years. After moving to San Jose in 1981, Marylee spent the rest of the eighties working in a stock brokerage firm but upon moving back north in 1989, she worked in the non-profit world for several years in both Redding and Red Bluff. She then found her calling as the grant writer for the Shasta Union High School District where she secured grants for programs such as teen pregnancy prevention and the Chinese-language immersion school. After retiring from the school district, Marylee continued to work for various non-profits, published professional articles and taught grant-writing classes at Shasta College. She officially re-retired just a couple of years ago and continued to receive requests for her services until quite recently. Active in the church throughout her life, Marylee also enjoyed working with women’s ministries at Redding Christian Fellowship.
Marylee knew how to appreciate the simple things that make life enjoyable. Things like nature (especially butterflies, trees, clouds and the rugged Pacific coastline), good books, good people, humor in dark moments, word games, finding grammatical errors in professionally printed signs and publications, and her morning coffee. She found the joy and beauty in each day, because it’s there if you just take a minute to look for it.
No services are scheduled at this time due to Covid-19 restrictions. The family will make plans for a future celebration of Marylee’s life to be held at Redding Christian Fellowship, the church that Gene and Marylee attended for over 20 years.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a donation to one of these wonderful organizations whose missions Marylee supported: Good News Rescue Mission in Redding, The Nature Conservancy, or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
