Mava Lee (Thomas) Woosley was born April 19, 1918, in Walnut Grove, Missouri. She was saved in October, 1935. She served with her husband, Loral, at the Vallejo Fundamental Baptist Church before surrendering to missions in 1952. They arrived in the Philippines on January 26, 1954. Loral and Mava Lee invested their lives in the land to which God had called them as missionaries. 

They loved and served the Filipino people for nearly half a century. She helped him establish the Bethany Baptist Church, Bethany Baptist Academy and the Bethany Baptist Bible College, and most recently the church has established the L. D. Woosley Bethany College, a full liberal arts degree granting institution focused on training national missionaries for the far East.

She served as a trainer of Sunday school and children's workers, and counselor to countless Bible college students and church members. She also was a beloved surrogate grandmother to two generations of missionary children. Busy until the very last, Mava Lee worked in recent years with widows, leading the Sunshine Club at Bethel. 

After a long battle with cancer, Mava Lee, graduated to Glory on October 24, 2001. She was preceded by her husband, Loral, in 1990. She was survived by two children: Rev. Robert Woosley, who with his wife, Gay, are missionaries in the Philippines, and Lora Lee Hooge, who with her husband, Delbert, also serve as missionaries in the Philippines. Mrs. Woosley had six grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren.