Mary Lee Gladding

Mary Lee Gladding- Swann Obituary

Mary Lee Gladding, age 56, of Casselberry, Florida passed away peacefully on April 15, 2025, surrounded by her family and close friends after a brief illness.

Mary Lee was born on October 20, 1968 in Annapolis, Maryland, to Thomas Gladding Jr. and Thelma Ann (Hall). She was a “navy brat” and moved around during her younger years then settled in Casselberry, FL where she attended Lake Howell High School and pursued her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Central Florida.

After graduating from UCF, she began her career working for UCF, at the library in the Circulation Department where she worked for 29 years. She was a welcoming presence in the library and her dedication and spirit of service will be missed by her friends and colleagues. In 2022, Mary Lee was named Employee of the Year which was a huge acknowledgment of her commitment to the guidance and support she brough to the UCF libraries on a daily basis.

Mary Lee was passionate about animals and always had cats that she loved and cared for.

She married her sweetheart, Carl Swann and they resided together in Casselberry, FL. Carl predeceased her several years back, along with her mother, Thelma Anne in 2009, her father, Thomas Gladding Jr. in 2024, her older sister, Laura Anne Gladding in 2007 and her older brother, Thomas Sanford Gladding in 2019. The surviving family includes her younger brother, Scott Gladding of Casselberry, FL, as well as her nephew, Tyler Gladding and niece, Lauryn Gladding and their mother, Kelli Gladding of New Smyrna Beach, FL.

Memorial services and a celebration of life will be held with close friends.

“What is remembered, lives. Though the body returns to the Earth, the spirit flies free, journeying through the veil, to the Summerland, where peace and rest await. In love may they return again.”

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