Mary Ann Tobin

Mary Ann Tobin was born in Guston, Kentucky on July 23, 1941, to Joseph Dalton Tobin Sr. and Mary Hulett (Broadbent) Tobin. She had one brother, Joseph Dalton “joe” Tobin Jr., who was a regional businessman.

She graduated from the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting. While at UK, she was named the first Ms. Keeneland in 1963. She was also a member of Chi Omega sorority and Beta Alpha Psi honor society.

In 1975, Mary Ann was elected to be a member of the Kentucky State House from the 18th District which comprised Breckinridge and Meade counties. She served in the House from 1976 to 1984. While in the House she served as Chair of the Capital Construction Oversight Committee as well as worked to update the state’s judicial system, automobile title laws, and drivers license plan. She was also an advocate for women’s rights.

In 1983 she decided to campaign to be the Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts. As a proud member of the Democratic Party primary, she won the general election and served in that position from 1984 until 1988. As Auditor, she started a hotline to report fraud and established the Economy and Efficiency Audit Division as a way to try to stop waste in government.

She sat out of politics for several years but in 1992 she decided to run for the district 5 seat in the Kentucky State Senate. She won the Democratic primary election which had seven candidates but lost the general election in a closely run race.

In 2020, Mary Ann ran in the Democratic primary in Kentucky’s election for the U.S. Senate. She placed fourth.

After leaving politics she focused on her family’s, and personal, businesses. She was part owner of First State Bank in Irvington and a co-owner of Brandenburg Telephone Company.       

Mary Ann’s lifetime passion was animals. From the time she was a young girl, she loved to ride horses, and at only 23 years old, opened Blue Star Riding Camp- a place where girls who would otherwise not have had the chance to learn to ride and care for horses, could live out their dream. Mary Ann owned and showed horses most of her life, winning Championship Horse Show for over 50 years, and even competed once with her stallion, Flight Command.

At one time, she taught Sunday School at the Irvington Methodist Church. She continued to show up there over the years, until the time of her passing.

In 1992, after a trip to Europe where she fell in love with the many spectacular gardens, she opened Broadmoor Gardens in Meade County, inspired by what she experienced on that trip. People visited from all over the country for tours. When local wildlife officials began bringing her fawns, raccoons, and other wildlife in need, she decided to get state and federal wildlife rehabilitation licenses, and in 2002, Broadmoor Gardens became Broadbent Wildlife Sanctuary. Over the years, people from throughout Kentucky brought thousands of wild birds and animals to Broadbent, located on 3,200 acres, for loving care. After receiving medical treatment and rehabilitation, the goal has always been to release wildlife back into their native habitat. In addition, Mary Ann also rescued dozens of horses, exotic birds and other animals and they continue to live out their lives at Broadbent as permanent residents. Her family hopes to continue her legacy of love for animals and keep Broadbent going so that future generations can learn to love and respect wildlife.

Friends and family were always welcome to visit her homes with or without her and enjoy her beautiful homes. She could frequently be seen traveling across the country from one home to another in her giant motorhome, accompanied by her precious babies—her cockatoo, Peaches, or King Tut the barn owl, and dogs of all sizes (with one hand on the wheel, a cigarette in the other hand, and a lap full of dogs – and she would tell you herself, she was the BEST driver). Anyone who knew Mary Ann knew how much she loved her dogs. She had countless dogs over her lifetime, including seven generations of the same line of her beloved white toy poodles. Her home was always filled with poodles, being spoiled alongside whatever rescue dogs needed a home.

Mary Ann Tobin never turned her back on a human or animal in need. She’ll be remembered as a loyal and true friend who was always willing to rescue anyone who needed help. She’ll also be remembered for her gift for telling stories about her lifetime of “capers”- bringing laughter and smiles to the faces of everyone who knew her. Those memories will last forever. No one will ever fill those sparkly baby blue shoes.

Anyone who met or knew Mary Ann seems to have a ‘Mary Ann’ story. Her family and friends would love to gather these stories. If you have a ‘Mary Ann” story, please take a moment to jot it down and get it to us or leave it in the box at the funeral home. You can also email it to diane_Broadbent@BellSouth.net or dize86@BellSouth.net or mail it to: PO BOX 387, Irvington, KY 40146. This gesture would be greatly appreciated. In lieu of other memorials, donations to her beloved Broadbent Wildlife Sanctuary would be treasured and used to further her endeavors.