Mildred Fairchild Graham Vasan

Mildred Fairchild Graham Vasan, known as "Mim," peacefully passed away on December 2, 2024, at the age of 95 in her home in Cupertino, CA. She was born on June 3, 1929, in Columbus, OH to James Larmour Graham and Dorothy Fairchild Graham. Mim's long life was marked by love, service, and grace. She was widely known for her kindness, generosity, her interest in the lives of others and her belief that humans are linked together universally regardless of race, creed, nationality or ethnicity.
Mim devoted her life to her family yet had a lasting impact on everyone she encountered. She combined a deep love for people with an insatiable curiosity about the world. Her life spanned her establishment of Molly Pitcher girls for the WWII effort in Bethlehem, PA to her fascination with Google search. A true "doer," she wasn't afraid of hard work-whether refinishing wood floors, painting a house, or devouring nearly a book a day.
Her educational background, career, and husband were all ahead of her time. Overeducated for her era, she held a BA in Political Science and French from Oberlin College, studied psychology under Jean Piaget at the University of Geneva, and earned a graduate degree in UN Affairs from NYU. She was an independent single career woman for 8 years in NYC working for the US Mission to the UN with NGO's and world affair organizations.
Mim's passion for other cultures was then put into practice when she married Srini Vasan, a successful pollution control chemical engineer from Madras, India. Together they had three children which she claimed was her greatest joy and purpose, only surpassed by her subsequent grandchildren which she said granted her a new dimension of joy, love and hope. As a mother, Mim was both generous and actively engaged, balancing family life with part-time professional and volunteer work -- at McGraw-Hill Publishing, as Vice President of the League of Women Voters in North Shore Chicago, and as acquisition editor at Greenwood Press and ABC-CLIO, publishing foreign policy and military history works by university professors.
In retirement, Mim's commitment to making a difference in her community remained unwavering. Srini and Mim traveled widely around the world and also lived in Kiev as volunteers for the International Executive Service Corps where Mim taught courses on US culture and business English and where Srini helped former nuclear scientists transition to environmental work. At the Forum of Rancho San Antonio, Mim served as Vice President of the RSI Board at the Forum Health Care Center, edited their quarterly newsletter, recruited local speakers, welcomed newcomers, and supported their library. Her endless projects included a book on Indian fables and research on the Fairchild and Graham family trees. During Srini's final years, Mim remained a devoted caregiver, while being a loving and active presence in the lives of her children and grandchildren.
Mim is survived by her three children: daughters Sita and Susheela, son Robin and his wife Carly; and six grandchildren: Nina and Reid Buzby, Michael Sheehan, and Ellington, Graham, and Marlowe Vasan.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Forum Charitable Fund and Room to Read. Forum Charitable Fund Room to Read
Mim's memory will live on in the hearts of her family, friends, and all those she touched during her extraordinary life.