Marie West

Marie West, aged 91, passed away in her residence at Meridian at Westwood in Fort Walton Beach, Florida on Wednesday, August 16, 2023. Born in 1931, Marie was raised in Camilla, Georgia by her mother, Lora Doster Stark and the large and loving extended Doster family. 

Growing up, Marie greatly enjoyed playing basketball and was also an accomplished pianist. After graduating from Mitchell County High School, she worked for the Rural Electrification Administration in Camilla, where she met her future husband, E. Lee West of Statesboro, Georgia. After their marriage in 1953, Marie worked part time in the private medical practice of Dr. Jack Doyle of Camilla, Georgia while also raising her three young children.

After several years living in Albany, Georgia, the family moved to Gulf Breeze, Florida and then to Fort Walton Beach, where Marie lived for nearly fifty years. She worked for Barnett Industries in Shalimar and was a keen bridge player and avid sports fan. She was also an active member of the United Methodist Church until the final years of her life.

Marie was preceded in death by her husband, Lee West, and her sister, Eloise Gallagher of Kings Mountain, North Carolina.

She is survived by her daughters, Dawn Mann of Gulf Breeze, Florida and Lynn West of Tiburon, California; son, Lee M. West of Fort Walton Beach, Florida; grandsons, William and Robert Mann, of Gulf Breeze, Florida ands Parker Snipes, of Tiburon, California; as well as great-grandchildren, Wesley, Lilly, and Annabelle Mann of Gulf Breeze, Florida.

A family gathering to celebrate Marie's life is being planned for this fall, when her ashes will be interred along with her husband’s at Oakview Cemetery in Camilla, Georgia.