December 20, 2016
Culver, Mary Lee
CULVER, Mary Lee (Oliver), 98, died peacefully at home in Westwood, MA, on December 6, 2016. Born August 3, 1918 in Paces, VA, she had resided in Westwood for 15 years, after 46 years in Dedham. She is preceded in death by her husband, Edward Holland Culver, whom she married in 1942 in Raleigh, NC. She is survived by daughters Lee Fontaine Wallace and her husband Lance of Santa Rosa, Calif., and Anne Culver Hawkins of Silver Spring, Md; son Edward Holland Culver, Jr., and his wife Susan of Wayland, Mass; and granddaughters Jennings Lee Cameron and her husband Ross and Anne Prentice Culver. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Meredith College, Raleigh, NC, in 1940. She was active in many service organizations including St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (Dedham) Altar Guild, The Fragment Society, New England Home for Little Wanderers, Colonial Dames of America, Manakin Huguenot Society of Virginia, the Boston Chapter of the National Cathedral Association, and the Women’s Committee of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Clinic. She was especially proud of her work in the 1970s supporting a Vietnamese refugee family sponsored by St. Paul’s Church. In addition to serving as a surrogate parent to the four children before they were reunited with their parents, she taught them practical and social skills to pursue their education, identified after-school job opportunities, coached them in skills needed to obtain and maintain these jobs, and advocated on their behalf to gain university admission and scholarships, and eventually to start their careers. They continued to keep in touch with her throughout her life. A Memorial Service will be held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Dedham on January 14, 2017 at 2 PM. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that any donations be made to the New England Home for Little Wanderers (www.TheHome.org) or to St. Paul’s Church, 59 Court St., Dedham, MA 02026.