Mary Gavin Obituary

Mary Blanche Bauer Gavin, 93, passed away peacefully at home in Santa Fe, N.M., on Jan. 7, 2008. Mary was born in Texas on Nov. 18, 1914, the only child of William and Nora (Homeyer) Bauer, and grew up near Corpus Christi. She was introduced to horseback riding at a very young age by her grandparents and developed a lifelong love of horses.

At the age of 16, she enrolled at the University of Texas and received a bachelor of arts degree. While attending the university, an adventurous streak led her to be the first woman on the college polo team and to take up flying. Her many broken bones and stitches from a plane crash and horse mishaps cost her parents many sleepless nights.

In her junior year at the university, she met a dashing young Army Air Corps pilot from Randolph Field in San Antonio who courted her for the next few years. Mary and Edward Morris Gavin were married on Nov. 25, 1936, marking the beginning of Mary's 23-year career as an aide-de-camp of a military pilot. She excelled at the social skills necessary for military wives and quickly learned to dispense emotional first aid to new widows, an all-too-common occurrence after the outbreak of World War II. In 1952, they were transferred to Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque where she became smitten with New Mexico and its people.

After her husband's retirement from the Air Force, they bought a ranch in northern New Mexico and divided their time between there and Albuquerque. The ranch, the people and the animals associated with the Pecos River Ranch became one of her great loves and led to her write a book about her experiences.

In 1976, they moved to Santa Fe to be near the cultural opportunities there. Upon learning that New Mexico did not have a natural history museum or a repository for its rich fossil and mineral heritage, she embarked upon a 30-year odyssey to create, fund and perpetuate the New Mexico Museum of Natural History. She became a regular fixture in the halls of the legislature lobbying for the museum's continued funding. These activities led to many long friendships both in politics and the museum world. She felt that her work on behalf of the museum was a small repayment to the people of New Mexico and especially its children for all they had given her and her family.

She is survived by her son, William M.B. Gavin (Renee) and grandchildren, Andrew and Jesse Gavin of Bozeman; her daughter, Anne Gavin Cruikshanks of San Luis Obispo, Calif.; and grandson, August Cruikshanks (Lisa) and two great-grandchildren, Miles and Seth Cruikshanks, all of Toronto, Ontario.

Interment has taken place at the Santa Fe National Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made in her name to the New Mexico Museum of Natural History Foundation.

A memorial service will be held in the spring.