Mildred Edith (Corah) Garvin, 91, of Milton, died at home May 12.
She was born in Lankin, N.D., in 1917 to Joseph and Mary Corah, who were farmers. She was the youngest of nine surviving children. She was the valedictorian of her high school class in North Dakota.
Mrs. Garvin was on her way to Texas with her lifelong best friend – a trip that featured stops in Minneapolis; Jackson Hole, Wyo.; San Francisco; and Los Angeles – and during a stop in Las Vegas she met her future husband, John T. Garvin, who was undergoing pilot training there.
They were married on June 6, 1943. The marriage lasted for 50 years before his death Jan. 4, 1994.
Mr. Garvin had a career that spanned 30 years as an Air Force pilot, and Mrs. Garvin was at each base and duty station including Illinois, Louisiana, Texas, Japan, Alabama, France and Virginia. Their military friends lasted a lifetime.
After Mr. Garvin’s retirement they lived in Hampton, Va. for 30 years where he began a second career teaching junior high school history. Mrs. Garvin played bridge with her friends at the Langley Air Force Base Officers Club every Wednesday. She had a green thumb, keen eye, was a great cook and had a kind heart.
She loved her children above all and believed that every child had the right to grow up in a safe and nurturing environment. She was a member of the Mary Immaculate Church in Hampton, Va., and St. Gregory’s Church in Dorchester.
She was a lifelong Democrat and populist. She loved the political world and watched the evening news every night until the time of her death. As her physical world grew smaller due to age and declining health she remained engaged in the world around her and never lost interest in other people and their lives.
Mrs. Garvin is remembered by her family as strong and kind, with a gracious heart, extraordinarily competent, funny and wise and will be greatly missed.
She is survived by her daughters, Maureen Lincoln, of Blackstone, and Michele Garvin, of Milton; her grandchildren, Eric Lincoln and his wife, Tiffany, of New York City, Michaela Lincoln, of Brookline, and Ellis Lincoln, of Blackstone; her brother, Frank Corah, of Portland, Ore.; her nephews, Jamsie McDill, of Key West, Fla., John McDill, of New Jersey, and John Jadrosich and Tom Jadrosich, of Hyde Park, N.Y.; her niece, Betty McDill, of Hyde Park, N.Y.; and many cousins, nieces and nephews on the Corah side of the family.
A funeral Mass was held in St. Gregory’s Church on May 16. Burial was in Arlington National Cemetery.
Donations may be made to St. Anthony’s Shrine, 100 Arch St., Boston, MA 021110.
Arrangements were by the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home.