Obituaries

Mary F. BoarmanBusinesswoman, Activist

Mary Frances Boarman, 61, a businesswoman and Democratic activist, died of non-Hodgkins lymphoma April 29 at her home in Severna Park.

Mrs. Boarman ran the Annapolis office of Beltway Title Co., which handles real estate settlement issues. She previously worked for other title companies and in commercial and residential real estate sales.

She worked in many political campaigns for progressive Maryland Democrats, including the first congressional campaign for U.S. House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, state Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (Calvert) and former governor Parris N. Glendening. She attended five Democratic national conventions as a visitor and a number of functions at the White House during the Clinton administration. She welcomed then-President Clinton to a fundraiser in October 2000.

Born in Washington, Mary Frances Vandegrift grew up in Prince George's County and graduated from Elizabeth Seton High School in Bladensburg. She attended St. Joseph College in Emmitsburg and the University of North Carolina in Wilmington. She graduated from the University of Maryland.

An avid reader of mysteries and fiction, she often finished a book in a single day, her husband said. She also loved gardening and boating on the Chesapeake Bay. She was a member of two yacht clubs.

Her marriage to Philip Roebuck ended in divorce.

Survivors include her husband of 31 years, Bill Boarman of Severna Park; a son from her first marriage, Christopher Roebuck of San Francisco; a daughter from her second marriage, Lauren Boarman of Gambrills.

-- Patricia Sullivan

Vivian L. ConnorHomemaker

Vivian L. Connor, 95, a Brentwood homemaker and longtime member of St. James Catholic Church in Mount Rainier, died April 27 of complications of Alzheimer's disease at Parsons Residential Care Center, a hospice in Chesapeake, Va.

Born in Bowie, the ninth child of William and Anna Leitch, Mrs. Connor lived in Prince George's County most of her life. She had to drop out of school during the sixth grade to care for her father and a few years later worked briefly for Montgomery Ward in Baltimore.