Oct. 30, 1916 – Oct. 8, 2013

Eva Mae Garwood, age 96, passed away peacefully of natural causes on Tuesday Oct. 8, 2013.  She was visited and comforted by family members at the Silverbrook Nursing Care Facility in Niles, Michigan at the time of her passing.

Eva was born Oct. 30, 1916 in East Chicago, Ill., to Bert & Lula Blanchard.  Eva married Donald F. Garwood, and lived in Niles, Mich., before settling in Cassopolis, Michigan, where she resided with her family in a country home, and then on Diamond Lake at Kamp Kozy in Cassopolis.  For a time, she was a resident of California, living in Riverside and had a home in Santa Cruz, Calif.  After raising 6 children, Eva entered the work force and served for years as Manager of the Diamond Harbor Gift Shop on Diamond Lake.  Eva earned her nursing degree, and worked at Hospitals in Michigan, Indiana and California, until her retirement from nursing upon moving back to Michigan, where she has lived in the area for years, with a short 3 and a half year stay at a senior living facility in Long Lake, Minnesota.

Eva was a member of the Presbyterian Church and a volunteer in her community when needed. Eva was very fond of knitting and crocheting, and was also known as a local oil and water painting artist.

Eva was preceded in death by a brother, Walter Blanchard, her husband, Donald F. Garwood in 1988, and a son, Robert L. Garwood, who passed in 2004.

Survivors include Eva’s sons, Donald C. Garwood, (Diana), of Coos Bay, Ore.; Neal R. Garwood, (Sheri), of South Bend, Ind.; David B. Garwood (Dawn), of Edwardsburg, Mich.; Mark F. Garwood, of South Bend, Ind.; and Michael G. Garwood, (Lynne), of Maple Plain, Minn. There are 11 grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

Cremation will take place at Elkhart Cremation Services. A service for Eva will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013 at Our Lady Of The Lake Catholic Church in Edwardsburg Michigan, with Fr. Joe McCormick presiding. Immediately following the service lunch will be served in the social hall of the church, all are welcome. At 12:30 pm a procession will form at the church, graveside services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Prairie Grove Cemetery in Penn Township, Michigan.

Memorial contributions are welcome and may be made online at www.heartlandhospicefund.org

Or mail to: Heartland Hospice Memorial Fund, 333 N. Summit St., P.O. Box 10086, Toledo, OH 43699-5989.

Please feel free to sign Eva’s guestbook and/or leave a comment about Eva, at www.elkhartcremation.com