Obituaries : Mary Virginia Carey; Children’s Book Author

Mary Virginia Carey of Ventura, an author of children’s books, died Friday at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura after a long struggle with emphysema. She was 69.

Carey worked for several years with Walt Disney Productions, writing novelizations of such movies as “Mary Poppins,” “The Jungle Book” and “Peter Pan.” In 1969, she began to work as a free-lance author, completing more than 10 books in the “Three Investigators” series for Random House.

Her sister, Gertrude Ryan of New York, said Carey was proudest of her 1985 novel, “A Place for Allie.”

“It was based on our mother’s life as a child and her trip from Nova Scotia to Boston,” Ryan said. “I think that personal book was the one she was most proud of.”

Carey was a board member for the American Lung Assn. and a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers. Her sister said she was also an avid beachcomber.

She is survived by her sister and a niece, also of New York.

Funeral services will be at 9 a.m. Monday at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Ventura. She will be buried at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Flushing, N.Y. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Lung Assn.

Davis, Mary Elizabeth (Betty), 84, of Thousand Oaks, homemaker. Pierce Brothers-Griffin Mortuary, Thousand Oaks.

Dutton, Wilbur Harvey, 84, of Westlake, retired UCLA professor. Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Mortuary, Westlake Village.

Oliva, Celia Aduna, 87, of Ventura, homemaker. Ted Mayr Funeral Home, Ventura.

Randall, Jary Mayne, 54, of Ventura, supervising psychiatric technician. Ted Mayr Funeral Home, Ventura.

Ventura County obituaries are published free of charge as a public service to readers. Obituaries are based on information provided by mortuaries.