DELWOOD JAMES GARVIN

Union, NH

Delwood James Garvin passed away at Mountain View Community in Ossipee on July 21, 2016, at the age of 102 years. He was born in Melrose, Massachusetts, in 1913, the son of James F. and Lilla Garvin. He moved to Union in 1976 with his late wife, Leota ("Lee") Garvin, where they lived in their beloved home, formerly owned by Abbie Came. He attended public schools in Melrose, Massachusetts, and Pitman, New Jersey, and Roxborough High School in Philadelphia. He studied radial aircraft engine design and maintenance at the Pittsburg Institute of Aeronautics in Pittsburg, Pa., earning an aircraft and engine license in 1941. He worked for the Pilgrim Press of the Congregational Bible House in Boston, and then began a career at the General Electric Company in Lynn, Massachusetts, first in small aircraft engine assembly and supercharger and jet engine testing, and then in the purchasing department. A Freemason for 68 years, he was a member of DeMolay; Wyoming Lodge, AF & AM, Melrose, Mass.; the Henry J. Mills Royal Arch Chapter, Saugus, Mass.; Unity Lodge, F & AM, Union, N. H.; and Unity Fraternal Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star. He was a proud recipient of a fifty-year medal and a sixty-year certificate in Masonry and of a Masonic Centenarian Award, and received the Quimby-Spooner Service Award from Unity Chapter, Eastern Star, and the Major General John Sullivan medal for his Masonic work in 1993. He was a member of the Union Congregational Church and of Reunion Grange in Union. He received the Wakefield Boston Post Cane in 2011. He is survived by a son, James L. Garvin, a daughter-in-law, Donna-Belle Garvin, both of Pembroke, and a daughter, Adele Garvin of Union, whose loving care made it possible for him to live at home with his cherished animal companions until a short time before his death. His life was devoted to his family and pets. He and Lee especially loved spending time at their camp in Barrington. At his request, there were no visiting hours or funeral; burial took place in Milton Mills Cemetery with a private Masonic service. For any who care to make a memorial donation, Del loved the Lakes Region Humane Society and the Nippo Lake Association Remediation Fund, P. O. Box 213, Barrington, N. H. 02835.