Miriam Matthews Munro

Miriam Matthews Munro was the third child of Miriam and Bill Matthews. When she was 18 months old the family moved from New York City to Washington D.C. Miriam was nicknamed "Mimsy" from the old English novel Peter Ibetson by Du Maurier: Peter met Mimsy, the ideal woman, only in his dreams. Later in life "Mimsy" became "Mims" which is how she was known to most.

Her family moved to Spring Valley, a suburb of Washington D.C. when Mims was 8 and she attended the local public school through 6th grade. At 13 Mims converted to Catholicism, after which she attended the Immaculata and Georgetown Visitation. Her faith remained an important part of her life until her passing.

Mims was very close with her mother who tragically died of intestinal cancer when Mims was 17. Mims had been her mother's caregiver throughout her high school years such that her mother's death was deeply impactful. After she graduated from Georgetown Visitation, she journeyed to California with her close friend Jane Buehler (later Yates), and the entire Buehler family. The Buehler's became like a second family and ultimately her extended California family when she would later move there.

Mims attended Connecticut College for Women and received a BA in zoology, with a goal to work in cancer research after the disease had taken her mother. After college, she worked in a lab at Sloan Kettering in New York City for two years testing the effects of chemotherapy drugs on mice.

Taking a break from her work, Mims traveled for 7 months around the world visiting countries in Eastern Africa, the Middle East and Europe, thus igniting her passion for world travel. Upon her return to California, she took another cancer research position with University of California San Francisco Medical Center. While in San Francisco, she met her future husband, Bruce Munro, a naval supply officer temporarily stationed in Oakland while his ship was being refurbished. The couple married and after finishing his naval commitment, Bruce attended Hastings School of Law while Mims's work in research supported the family. Their first child, Ken, was born in 1963 and their second, Stephanie, in 1966, all before Bruce had finished law school. After graduation, the family moved to Los Altos and Mims has lived there ever since. Their third child, Kristy, was born in 1969, and Mims embraced being a mother of three while her husband practiced law in Palo Alto.

During those early family years, the couple enjoyed bridge, sailing, tennis and a full social life. But in 1983 the marriage ended. After that time, Mims returned to her early love for travel, and became a travel agent helping friends and clients put together amazing trips all while exploring the world for herself as part of her business. Staying true to her faith, Mims was also a highly involved volunteer with St. William Church as a eucharistic minister and for many years she coordinated the church's participation in a rotating homeless shelter.

After retiring from the travel business, Mims enjoyed many pastimes including golf, gardening, flower arranging, and her weekly exercise classes. She cherished her community and close friendships. In the last chapter of her life, Mims was deeply involved in the lives of her 8 grandchildren, all of whom were being raised in the Bay Area. Her pride and joy, "Her Angels" as she called them, gave her a sense of purpose and an opportunity to open her heart like never before.

Mims is survived by her three children, Kenneth Bruce Munro, Stephanie Munro Ashworth and Kristine Munro Kamali; their spouses, Debbie Healy Munro, James Scott Ashworth, and Henry Kamali; her eight grandchildren, Margaret Eileen Munro, Kathleen Marie Munro, Sydney Munro Ashworth, Sophia Kristine Ashworth, Casey Helen Kamali, Paige Anne Kamali, Thomas James Ashworth and Brady Kenneth Kamali; and her grandson-in-law Andrew Karl Munro.

Funeral Mass for Mims will be held at St. William Church in Los Altos at 10:00am on January 30th, 2026. The Funeral Mass may be viewed online at: https://youtube.com/live/GBIZcOCBafg?feature=share

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to one of Mims' favorite charities:

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, https://www.stjude.org/donate/donate-to-st-jude.html?sc_icid=header-btn-donate-now

Community Service Agency, https://www.csacares.org/donate/

KQED, http://donate.kqed.org

Or support the effort to find a cure for Alzheimers and Dementia at https://donorservices.alz.org/login?form=FUNXAHXKQNE

Thank you.