Mary Boppell received her Bachelors and Master degrees at University of Washington. She then worked at Kapowsin High School and then Tahoma High School. From 1941-1955, she was Chairman of Home Economics Department at Whitworth University. She then took leave from Whitworth to work at Beirut College for Women in Lebanon from 1955-1956. From 1961-1965, she worked at Allahabad Agricultural Institute in India as a Consultant in the Home Economics Department. Additionally, from 1970-1982, she was a chairman and then professor at the Home Economics Department at Eastern Washington University.