On Saturday, January 10, Brenda Farnsworth and the United Methodist Women of the First United Meth-odist Church of Parsons hosted a 90th Birthday Celebration in honor of Wanda J. Booth in the church Fellowship Hall.
Wanda was born January 9,1936 at her parents’ home in rural Tucker County near St. George. Wanda was one of the 12 children of George B. and Nellie Gay Bohon. Before entering 4th grade at Parsons Elementary, she attended 1st through 3rd grades at Location, St. George and Bretz Academies. She was a member of the Parsons High School Class of 1954. During her senior year, she worked as a waitress at the Hinebaugh’s Restaurant where she met her future husband.
Wanda wed Edwin J. Booth (Peabody) on December 4,1953 in Oak-land, MD. They were married for over 66 years and shared three children. Their eldest son, Edwin Alan, is deceased. Their only daughter, Brenda Jean Farnsworth, Moseley, Virginia was married to Daniel Farnsworth who is deceased. She was also married to Larry R. Phil-lips from 1981 until his death in 2006. Wanda and Edwin’s youngest son, Steven Jeffery, Hendricks, West Virginia is married to the former Becky Carr.
Wanda has 7 grandchildren. Steven Alan Booth, Parsons; Adam (Heidi) Snyder, Parsons; Kellie (Zach Woodward) Snyder, Clarksburg, West Virginia; Jennifer (Red) Lipscomb, Parsons; Erin (Nathan) Cooley, Aurora, Illinois; Chelsea (Matthew) Sibert, Houston, Texas; and Kate-lyn (Connor) Anderson, Fort Worth, Texas. She also has 14 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild.
In addition to her early job as a waitress, Wanda worked for over 20 years at McClain Printing Company and the Parsons Advocate. A whiz with words, she began as a proofreader, then a lino-type operator and ulti-mately a typesetter using IBM and Compugraphic technology. In 1985, she and Edwin bought the Hamby Press and renamed it Booth Printing. In 1987, they purchased Tom’s Printing in Elkins and ran both locations until 1998 when Peabody “retired”. She continued to run Booth Printing from their home until the early 2000’s.
She grew up in a Chris-tian household and the family attended the Par-sons Church of God. She and Edwin later joined First United Methodist and were active members for more than 40 years. Here, she sang alto in the church choir and other ensembles. She is also a member of the United Methodist Women, serving as treasurer for many years. She worked at the Food Pantry and she and Edwin were a pres-ence in the church kitchen. In addition to serving her church, Wanda has been a member of the Blackwater Chapter of the Daughters’ of the American Revolution for over 30 years. Currently, Honorary Regent of Blackwater Chapter, she served as Corresponding Secretary for many of those years.
Wanda and Brenda will be residing in Moseley for the remainder of the winter. Their address is 5712 Grandin Ave, Moseley, VA 23120.
In addition to Brenda, guests attending included: Wanda’s sisters, Louetta Sponaugle, Linda Bates, and Ruth Carr, Steve and Becky Booth, Steven Alan Booth, Jennifer and Aleigh Lipscomb, Zach Wood-ward, Kellie, Teagan, and Ben Snyder, Heidi, Emily and Kiley Snyder, John and Luanna Bava, Pam Harper, Jonathan, Sarah, and Kris-ten Hicks, Cindy Lipscomb, Ann Rogers, Jea-nette Crosten, Lisa Gothelf, Eldon and Frances Harper, Kay Flanagan, Dorothy Carr, Dennis Filler, Mont and Barbara Miller, Jane and Bud Parsons, Bobby and Anita Phillips, Liz and Jake Lancaster, Donnie Evans, Brian and Dee Stevens, Cindy Goughnour, Madonna and Richard Stokes, James, Kim, and Emma Snyder.
