Mary Edith (Boots) Brandes, 93, of California, MD passed away on February 26, 2020 at Taylor Farm Assisted Living Facility in Bushwood, MD. She was born on June 12, 1926 in Washington,DC to the late John Francis Hardie and the late Marian Frances (Lohr) Hardie.

She graduated from Washington & Lee High School in Arlington, VA in June 1944 and attended the College of William and Mary where she was a member of the Sigma Phi Beta sorority. On October 9, 1947 she married William Robert "Bob" Brandes of Teaneck, New Jersey at the St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Arlington, VA. They never forgot to wish each other a Happy Anniversary on the 9th day of every month for the 61 years they enjoyed together before Bob's death in 2009.

Her career included jobs in the Trust Department of the National Savings & Loan Association in Washington, DC, the Chemical Bank in New York City, and the Department of the Navy Executive Office in Arlington, VA. Boots was a devoted and loving wife, mother, grandmother, and friend. When she wasn't caring for her family, she could always be found outside working in her or her neighbors' gardens or taking walks through her Wildewood neighborhood.

She is preceded in death by her sister Carolyn Bloszies and brother John (Jack) Hardie. She is survived by her daughter Patricia Yochim (Tom) of California, MD, and her grandchildren Nicole Yochim of Ann Arbor, MI and Alyssa Yochim of Cincinnati, OH. All services will be private.