Mary Louise Lee-Cutolo

Mary Louise 84 passed away December 8, 2020 peacefully at her home in Tampa, Florida surrounded by family. She was born in Tampa October 6, 1936 to Cecile Turner Lee and Lamarcus Walthugh Lee (Sku). She was the youngest of five daughters. The Lee family are longtime Florida Citrus Growers and are direct decedents of Richard Henry Lee, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Mary Louise attended Gorrie Elementary, Wilson Junior High, and Plant High school and graduated from Sophie Newcomb College. She married Edward Philip Cutolo at Sacred Heart Churching in downtown Tampa. After she married she began her world travels while raising three children and multiple pets. She lived in Louisiana, Argentina, Rhode Island, Virginia, Venezuela, and Massachusetts as an Army spouse. After the loss of her husband, she returned to Tampa and continued to raise her children. She remained close to her childhood friends, Judy Lawson and Mary Anne Kearney and continued to travel with Francis Cruse. Mary Louise's father was King of Gasparilla in 1921 and she was Queen of Gasparilla in 1959. She was a longtime citrus and recent hay farmer, after taking over the family business with her sisters from her father. She learned to fly and successfully flew solo. Her favorite plane was the B-17 and during WWII, when she was a child, she used to watch them fly over her home on S. Orleans Street. She was able to complete a longtime goal and flew in a B17 over Tampa and Lake Thonotosassa. She was a Junior League Sustainer and also a member of the Chislers and the Strawberry Group. She enjoyed plays and was a Charter member of the Straz Center. She also enjoyed reading and traveling and being with her family. She is preceded in death by her husband, Edward Philip Cutolo and sisters, Marion Claire Lee, Cecile Lee Burnett, Grace Lee Sultenfuss, and Joan Lee Sultenfuss. She is survived by her three children, Edward, Jane, and Michael and grandchildren, Emily and Jocelyn. In lieu of flowers please donate to Life Path Hospice.

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Published in Tampa Bay Times on Dec. 13, 2020.