Mary Jane BOGGS

1926 - 2024

February 6, 1926 - February 22, 2024 Mary Jane Boggs, loving mother and grandmother passed away peacefully on Thursday, February 22, 2024, at the age of 98 in Pasadena, CA.
Mary Jane was born on February 6, 1926 in Liberal, Kansas, to Wade Notley and Olive Jane Zimmerman. Mary Jane was the 4th of six children, five girls and one boy. She was a farmer's daughter, and her parents and siblings worked on the family's dairy farm. Her parents moved from Kansas when Mary Jane was 12 and relocated the family dairy business to Van Nuys, CA, in 1938. Mary Jane attended Van Nuys High School. She then enrolled at UCLA, joining the Alpha Chi Omega sorority. She graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 1949.
Mary Jane became an elementary school teacher upon graduation. It was at UCLA that Mary Jane met Logan A. Boggs. They married in 1950 and had three children together. Logan and Mary Jane lived in Los Angeles, Detroit, and Phoenix before finally moving to San Marino in the fall of 1962.
The arrival of their third child in 1963 convinced Mary Jane to be a full-time homemaker. Mary Jane was actively involved in all three of her children's lives. She attended virtually every Little League game, water polo match, cheerleading performance, play, and musical in which her kids were involved.
Mary Jane was an active volunteer in charities and other organizations in San Marino. She was Debutante Ball Chair of The National Charity League, PTA President of Stoneman and San Marino High School, a Girl Scout Leader, and a Boy Scout supporter. Mary Jane was also involved with Pasadena Children's Guild, the Blue Ribbon Society, and Luminaries. She was a docent at Huntington Library, and a supporter of The Huntington Hospital, and a loyal member of the San Marino Community Church. Mary Jane loved the community and city of San Marino. She loved her Christmas tree street (St. Albans Road) and continued the tradition of tree lighting each year.
In 1986, she met and later married William A. Kurlander. He was a true gentleman and a class act. They had a beautiful marriage and had over a decade together before he passed away in 1997. Mary Jane was lucky in love and, in 2003, married Richards ("Dick") D. Barger of San Marino. Together, they shared so many joyous years. Their union was loving, and he was a wonderful man whom all of our family adored. Dick died in January of 2016. Mary Jane was preceded in death by Logan A. Boggs, Sr., her sisters Rose Shufelberger, Thelma Klausner, Kate Ann Scholz, her brother Wade Zimmerman, Jr., and her grandson, Vincent Matthew Ary, Jr.
Mary Jane lived a long and happy life. She made friends wherever she went. Mary Jane embraced literature and was an avid reader, always with a book in hand. She loved politics and actively encouraged debate. Mary Jane loved to travel and visited nearly all of the states in the USA. She traveled to Europe, Japan, China, and numerous other countries in her lifetime. She especially relished her family vacations in Hawaii with her children and grandchildren, which brought her the most joy.
Mary Jane will be missed by her sons, Logan Alexander Boggs, Jr. (wife Janet), Jonathan Lewis Boggs (wife Marie), and her daughter, Cynthia Jane Boggs-Ary (husband Vincent). She is survived by six grandchildren, Elizabeth ("Ellie") Boggs, Thomas Ary, Logan Boggs III, Mary Jane Ary, Timothy Boggs, and Veronica Boggs. Mary Jane is also survived by her sister, Laura Lea Young of Northridge, and many nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. at San Marino Community Church on Saturday, March 9th. A Celebration of Life will follow at one of her favorite places, The Athenaeum (Cal Tech), located at 551 South Hill Ave., Pasadena.
Gifts in memory of Mary Jane Boggs may be made to the Foundation of San Marino Community Church 1750 Virginia Road, San Marino, CA 91108, or go to: smccpby.com/give/foundation-of-smc