Mary Garmus

Mary Garmus, beloved wife of Ralph Garmus (who predeceased her in 2006), the best mom on Earth to daughters Carol, Diana, Nancy and Bonnie, the doting grandmother of Zoe, Sophie, David, Jason, Rachel, Ben, Lauren and Anna, the great grandmother of Justin and Jacob, and the compassionate, caring friend of many, passed away on October 14, 2010, from vascular dementia. She was 84. Born September 16, 1926, in Canton, Ohio, Mary was a talented majorette in high school and even decades later, could swing a baton with bravado. She graduated as a Registered Nurse from Massillon State College, also in Ohio, in 1945, and began her career in the Cadet Nursing Corp. Had World War II continued, she would have been sent to heal the wounded on foreign battlefields. Instead, she worked stateside, delivering her nursing expertise with an abundance of care and concern for all of her many patients. She married the love of her life, Ralph, in 1948, and moved with him to Riverside, California, where she continued nursing for a while until she decided to transfer those skills, along with many others, to mothering. She became a phenomenal cook, an unsurpassed baker, a masterful seamstress, a pillar of her church's many programs, and the best support her children's school teachers could ever want. Her most valuable and natural talent, however, was her ability to simply nurture, care for and love her children. She often said that she always loved being a mother and it showed. One of her daughters' most cherished memories is that whenever she phoned, she would cheerfully state, "Hi, it's me, mom!", a greeting that always meant so much more than the simple words might seem to convey, as did her standard signature on all the cards and letters she wrote: "Love and Hugs, Mom." After living abroad for a time, Mary and Ralph spent the last years of Ralph's career in Miami, Florida, where Mary decided to return to her nursing career. She spent many successful years delivering the best in medical treatment to respiratory patients at South Miami Hospital. Upon Ralph's retirement, Mary moved with him back to California, to Kenwood, where they built the home of their dreams on three acres and reveled in the beauty of the Sonoma Valley. Mary relished the time and opportunity to sew and to cook again. She revived her pickling, preserving, and canning skills so as to capture all of the bounty from their gardens, and her baking skills, which had never lost their form, became all the more superior. For more than half a century, even when living abroad, Mary gathered her family together each year at Lake Tahoe where she and Ralph maintained a lakeside cabin. As her husband's Parkinson's disease progressed, she advocated tirelessly for him and devoted herself completely to his care. Mary was an enthusiastic member of PEO, an organization supporting women's education, and she devoted many hours to advancing its mission. She had a fierce work ethic and was a strong advocate for women's rights. She had a miraculous gift for finding the best, legal parking space closest to her destination, a spot which, when her family members occasionally locate one, fondly call it "The Mary Garmus parking spot." She was also a master at packing and wrapping boxes so well that had UPS and the U.S. Postal Service ever used her services, not a single item ever mailed would have broken in transit. Of course, recipients of her boxes would also have to spend considerable time trying to get to these items, as discerning the mystery of where a box might be breached, was rarely easily accomplished. She loved daisies and she loved to arrange the many flowers, which grew in her husband's gardens, throughout their home. She loved the color yellow and all things "cheerful." She loved to do needlepoint. She loved to dance to Glen Miller. She loved to hum hymns and go to church. She loved to take walks with her husband, holding his hand. She loved to be needed and she loved to help. She loved her dogs - the collies she grew up with - and the dogs she and her husband brought into their home - Charlie Brown, Jake, Lady and Melody. She loved her friends unconditionally. She loved her husband fully and completely. She loved her children dearly. And she, was deeply loved, and will be profoundly missed, by her family and friends. In lieu of flowers, Mary would be so pleased to have donations made in her name to the Parkinson's Foundation, the Alzheimer's Foundation or your local animal shelter.