Lillian Garvin Obituary

GARVIN, Lillian Lillian Eleanor Deane Garvin, daughter of Myrtle Emmit Deane, Sr. and Lillian Eleanor Johnson Deane, was born October 28, 1919 in Arvonia (Buckingham County) Virginia, died on Tuesday, April 10, 2007. Eleanor graduated from the R.N. Program at Garfield Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., earned her undergraduate degree at Duquesne University and her M.A. in Nursing from Columbia University (NYC). She worked as a Public Health Nurse in New York and South Carolina, and later as Nurse-Educator: Associate Professor of Community Health Nursing and then as Assistant Dean of the College of Nursing at MUSC. Eleanor was the Director of Continuing Education for the Department of Nursing, MUSC Hospital when she retired in 1984. Eleanor was active in her professional association, The American Public Health Association. She was active in the Unitarian Church, serving on the Vestry (Chair), in the Alliance (President), and for years, she was an Eden Keeper (the volunteer group that maintains the churchyard.) Ellie worked hard for the causes in which she believed. For a number of years Ellie was very effective as Public Policy Chair of the local branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and was twice named as an Educational Foundation Honoree (1993 & 1999) by that organization. She was a member and strong supporter of Planned Parenthood, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, the ACLU, and other organizations promoting education, social justice, and equality and working to eliminate practices of discrimination based on race or gender. Ellie is survived by a sister, Thelma Deane Penick of Jensen Beach, FL; her three sons and their wives: John McVay (Lucky) Garvin, M.D. and Dennis Deane Garvin, M.D. both of Roanoke, VA and Bruce Wayne Garvin of Miami, FL; seven grandchildren, four great-granddaughters, and her close friend for thirty years, Sue Metzger. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 21, 2007 at 1:00 o'clock p.m. at the Unitarian Church on Archdale Street. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Unitarian Church Endowment Fund, Planned Parent, or a charity of your choice. Arrangements were made through PALMETTO CREMATION SOCIETY, CHARLESTON. Visit our guestbook at www.charleston.net/deaths.