Mary L. Booth

Mary L. Booth, 87, of Central City, formerly of Clarks, died Monday, September 20, 2010, at Litzenberg Memorial County Hospital in Central City.  Funeral services will be held Friday, September 24, at 10:00 A.M. at Wagner Funeral Home in Central City with Reverend Valjean Warman officiating.  Private family inurnment will be in Bureau Cemetery by Pierce Chapel.  Visitation will be Thursday, September 23, from 5 to 7 at the funeral home. 

Mary was born November 20, 1922, on the Grant place, just east of Pierce Chapel.  She was the oldest child of Walter L. and Mable L. (Trullinger) Beck.  She started school at District 25, and then went to Pleasant Hill, District 15.  She finished high school at Clarks Public School in 1940.  After graduation she worked at Henry Fields Nursery in Shenandoah, Iowa. 

Mary married James William Booth of Clarks in 1942.  Early in their marriage they lived in Highland Falls, New York, where James was stationed at West Point Military Academy.  The couple returned to Clarks in 1944.  James was the co-owner of Booth Transfer and Mary worked as a cook in various cafes in Central City and Clarks.  They enjoyed raising horses, burros and mules, participating in parades around the state with various teams and wagons.  She enjoyed embroidering and giving away all she made.  She was an avid reader and collected dog figurines and state plates.  Mary enjoyed watching her grandchildren, and especially enjoyed baseball and softball.  Her four grandsons are all involved in ministry.  She was a member of Pierce Chapel United Methodist Church. 

In 1976, Mary’s husband James died.  She continued to live in Clarks until 2006 when she moved to Valley View Assisted Living in Fullerton.  In 2009 she moved to Long Term Care in Central City due to poor health.  Mary was a polio victim in 1950, but through strong determination she overcame the paralyzing effects of polio. 

Survivors include two daughters and sons-in-law, Mary Jane and Frank Bell of Lyons, NE; and Loretta and Rod Pollard of Clarks, NE, a son and daughter-in-law, William James and Eileen Booth of Clarks, NE, six grandchildren, Kim of Little Rock, AR; William and Shawna Booth of Genoa, NE; Mike and Wendy Booth of Woodland Park, CO; Matt Booth of Valentine, NE; Brian and Michelle Pollard of Gilbert, AZ; Brenda and Terry Dostal of Gretna, NE, two sisters, Jeanette Whipple of Grand Island, NE; and Margaret Zumbrumm of CO, a brother, Walter (Duane) Beck of Columbus, NE, and a sister-in-law, LaRhue Beck of Clarks, NE, fourteen great-grandchildren and one great-great grandson. 

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, James Booth, and two brothers, Russell and Bill Beck, and one grandson, Andrew Pollard. 

Memorials are suggested to Bureau Cemetery and condolences may be sent to www.wagnerfuneral.com.

Music: “Beautiful Isle of Somewhere”, “How Great Thou Art” and “Amazing Grace”

Honorary Pallbearers: The Grandchildren

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