Dr. Marvin Boots

1937 - 2025

Dr. Marvin Robert Boots died at his Bon Air, Virginia home on June 13, 2025. He was born January 29, 1937, to parents Marie Frederica Kroening Boots and Joseph Hess Boots.

He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Emily McCeney Boots; daughter Katherine Boots Smith; stepson Julien Morriss; and granddaughters, Madelyn Smith and Mallory Smith.

He is preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Joseph Preston Boots; half-brother, Charles Moreau; and half-sister, Vera Moreau Schrader, all of St. Louis, Missouri.

Marvin grew up in St. Louis and from an early age, he embraced a strong work ethic, taking on various jobs. Selling newspapers, scooping ice cream, working at a pharmacy, and delivering prescriptions on his bicycle to name a few.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from St. Louis College of Pharmacy in 1958, received his Master of Science from the University of Wisconsin in 1960, and earned a PhD in medicinal chemistry from the University of Kansas in 1963.

Dr. Boots began his teaching career as an assistant professor of pharmacy at the University of Mississippi in 1963. Following a brief tenure in the chemical industry with Gulf Oil, he returned to academia, joining the Medical College of Virginia in 1966. He served there for thirty years as a professor and assistant department chair of medicinal chemistry. His contributions included chairing the curriculum committee, directing graduate programs in medicinal chemistry, and serving as a member of the Faculty Senate.

Dr. Boots received several special awards: the Rennebohm Teaching Award, given by the University of Wisconsin; the Lunsford Richardson Pharmacy Research Award; and Instructor of the Year, School of Pharmacy, from MCV/VCU in 1979, among others.

In 1985, accompanied by his family, he took a year-long sabbatical as a visiting professor of medicinal chemistry at University of Bath in Bath, England. In retirement, he and his wife, Emily, traveled extensively, visiting Europe, Russia, Australia, Hawaii, and numerous other destinations.

Subsequent to his retirement, Marvin served as a legislative aide for Senator R. Edd Houck at the Virginia General Assembly. During the 1990s, he served as president of the Democratic Club of Metropolitan Richmond.

Marvin was a devoted father and grandfather, a babysitter to his grandchildren and pet sitter extraordinare. He was a lifelong fan of the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas Jayhawks.

Memorial gifts can be sent to his favorite charities, Native American schools and donkey rescue organizations. St. Joseph's Indian School in South Dakota and Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue in Texas, or to RISC at Bon Air Presbyterian Church.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, September 6, at Bon Air Presbyterian Church. A private interment will take place at Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, on a separate date.