Mary Lee Maples

Mary Lee was born on February 10, 1927, to Arthur W. and Charlotte Palmer, in Washington, DC. She attended local schools Chevy Chase, Maryland, except for three years while the family lived in London, England. Mary Lee graduated from the College of Wooster, Wooster, OH, in 1949, and worked briefly for the DC Public Library System, before attending the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, PA, where she graduated in 1951 with a master’s degree in library sciences.

From 1951 to 1961 Mary Lee worked as a children’s librarian, first in Baltimore and then with the DC Public Library system, where she met Houston L. Maples, Jr. They were married in 1959 and Mary Lee set aside library work in 1961 to raise two sons. In 1976 she returned to her library career, working for the Norwood School, a private elementary school, until 1991.

Mary Lee was a lifelong member of the Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church and volunteered often in the church library. In her free time she participated in a children’s storytelling group and enjoyed crocheting and needlepoint crafts. Mary Lee and Houston were supporters of the arts and frequently attended programs at the Kennedy Center.

She was preceded in death by her husband, and by her brother, Arthur W. Palmer, Jr. Survivors include her sons Alan W. Maples of Scottsboro, Alabama, and Art (Mara Baer) Maples of Denver, Colorado, and two grandchildren.

A celebration of life will be held at Ingleside Rock Creek, Building 4, 3050 Military Road, Washington, DC, on February 3 at 2:00 pm. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church.