Gloria Garvey - Hanington

Little could the world have imagined who had just made her appearance when Gloria was born on October 12, 1949 in Evanston, Illinois to Walter H. Etzbach and Gloria Gartz Etzbach. Baby Gloria, her parents, and older half sisters, Sherry and Gail, welcomed Gloria's adored younger brother, Don, just over a year later, and the family moved to Denver, Colorado, and Towson, Maryland before settling in Riverside, Connecticut.

There, in seventh grade, Gloria befriended a shy girl with a stutter, Mary MacMillan. Mac and Gloria became lifelong best friends, rounding out to an unstoppable trio in 10th grade at The Masters School (in Dobbs Ferry, New York) when they met Mary Goodbody. The three of them shared a lifetime of rich, often hilarious adventures, most of which cannot be printed here.

After graduating from Dobbs, Gloria attended Smith College in Massachusetts, where she majored in English literature. While in university, she met Scott Garvey, who was studying at Yale. Gloria and Scott married in the summer of 1971 and moved to Korea, where Scott served in the US Army's last MASH unit and Gloria volunteered with the American Red Cross - Korea, who awarded her with the Clara Barton Award for Outstanding Community Service. They moved to Scott's home state of Hawaii in 1972, where their son Ian was born in 1979, and where Gloria delightedly spent the remainder of her life.

Gloria soared in Hawaii, bringing her irrepressible spirit to a range of volunteer and professional spaces and profoundly influencing Hawaii's business community. A former Hawaii Ad Woman of the Year, Gloria was Senior Vice President at both Starr Seigle McCombs and Milici Valenti Gabriel DDB Needham. Gloria formed another lifelong friendship when she recruited Brook Gramann from California to Milici Valenti.

In 1990, Gloria and Brook founded The Brand Strategy Group together, a company they ran for over 25 years. In 2005, they began another business together when they opened Lanikai Bath and Body in Kailua, where they both resided. Committed to giving back to their community, Gloria and Brook envisioned and then built Lanikai Bath and Body to be a local business providing mentorship and other growth opportunities to single mothers, students, and others through a variety of work positions in the business.

Gloria received an award for team leadership from Sheraton Hotels and, during her many years of involvement with Rotary Club of Honolulu, was given several Paul Harris Fellowships, a Wade and Harue McKay Fellowship, a Sullivan Fellowship, and the Ed Faison Award for living the four way test.

Gloria, a dynamic, intelligent go-getter, also volunteered for many years at Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), for which she also served as a board member. She was recognized in 2003 with the Carol McNamee Volunteer Award and, in 2024, Gloria along with Brook were recognized by MADD for their instrumental work in the development of the MADD Victim Memorial.

Gloria was a board member of Special Olympics Hawaii, volunteered with the Boys and Girls Club, was an advocate for the American Heart Association and for the Domestic Violence Action Center, and conducted interviews on behalf of Smith College for prospective students in Hawaii.

After her marriage to Scott ended, Gloria married Doug Carlson, becoming an active, involved, and loving stepmother to his children, Ragnar and Eric. Although Doug and Gloria divorced, Eric and Ragnar remained integral parts of Gloria's life and family.

In 1990, Gloria met the love of her life, Mark Hanington. The two married in 1991 and spent the next 33 years together - in joy, in companionship, in love. Gloria became stepmother to Mark's children and, for all of the children in her care, a source of friendship and wisdom to an assortment of their friends. For many years, Mark and Gloria's home was a hub of activity, from the many young people who found a home there to friends visiting from across the globe.

There are not many people who have best friendships all over the world, but Gloria was one of those special, magnetic, generous beings to whom people gravitated. She had a thousand watt smile that lit up the room, was an exquisite writer and voracious reader, an astute political observer, and a devoted, encouraging, and endlessly insightful mentor.

Gloria did all of this while at times battling deep depression, a testament to her extraordinary will and her commitment to her community.

She had a wicked sense of humor, sarcastic and quick-witted, and an enormous capacity for adventure.

For a time she owned four turtles named Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young that she walked on pieces of string. Asked by an astute teenager if she did that to meet men, Gloria laughed, "Of course!" She traveled extensively, including at nineteen to Europe with Mac and Goodbody, a trip so full of delights that the complete scope of the experience has never fully been revealed.

Additional trips to Europe, around the United States and Canada, and to neighboring islands throughout her life kept Gloria busy and in touch with her own global community. Playful, she found humor in almost every situation. She loved Coca-Cola. She loved ice cream. She loved swimming. She was, in the words of Mary MacMillan, "the brightest light in the world. Always."

Gloria knew, it seemed, everyone and everyone was glad to know her in return. She maintained decades long friendships with so many people, including her rich relationship with Liz Howard; her connection to Judith Kimball, David Dunham, Hojin Song, Liz Lee, Steve Garvey, Jeff Hungerford, and so many more - loving of Gloria and deeply loved in return.

Gloria died after a long illness on April 23, 2024, her beloved husband's birthday. Mark was at her side, as he had been throughout her illness, and throughout the last 34 years.

She was predeceased by her parents, Walter "Etzy" and Gloria Etzbach, and her sisters, Sherry Siemanowski and Just Gail.

Left to rejoice for having known her are her husband, Christopher Mark Hanington; her son, Ian Garvey; her brother, Don Etzbach (Catherine); her stepchildren, Fiona Hanington (Jon), Andrew Hanington Erickson (Kristin), Kyla Hanington (Daniel), Ragnar Carlson (Heather), and Eric Carlson; her stepgrandchildren; nieces and nephews; best friends, Mary MacMillan, Mary Goodbody, and Brook Gramann; and many, many other friends and family members. Her energetic, outspoken, and creative presence is profoundly missed.

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, May 25, 2024 from 1 - 3 PM at Mark and Gloria's home: 546 Iana St., Kailua, HI. In lieu of flowers or cards, please consider making a donation to MADD Hawaii in Gloria's memory at madd.org/Hawaii or mail checks to MADD Hawaii, 745 Fort St. Suite 301 Honolulu, HI 96813.