Hope Garrahan

Hope Hamilton Garrahan passed away at the Pioneer Care Center in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, on December 27, 2011. She was born September 19, 1920, in Broughton, Illinois, the daughter of Charlie Gaines Hamilton, and Anne Reeves Hamilton. Hope grew up in southern Illinois, in a house filled with music. Eldest daughter of a jazz and big band musician, she played piano, cello and sang throughout her life. She attended college at Southern Illinois University and graduated with a major in education and a minor in music. After graduation she moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1941 and got a job working as a secretary –receptionist in a physician’s office for $65 a month. In 1942 she went to work for the Federal Public Housing Administration in Washington DC as a stenographer, and after four years, left for Chicago to work for a private developer. After a year in Chicago, she returned to Missouri to edit college textbooks and other instructional materials. In the early 1950’s she moved back to Washington DC to work again for the federal government. In 1955 she married Norman Garrahan. In 1956 they moved to Silver Spring, Maryland where she resided until 2000. She was a trophy winning duckpin bowler and participated in leagues in Maryland for a number of years. She enjoyed attending Community Theater, concerts and plays and was a big supporter of local arts organizations in Maryland. She also loved going to the University of Maryland football games, mostly for the band halftime show to see her son play trombone. She enjoyed being outdoors and walking at local nature centers, exploring and vacationing in parks in Maryland and West Virginia. She attended many shows in the theaters in nearby Washington DC. She was active in the Glenmont United Methodist Church, singing in the choir and playing bells and made many close friends through the church. Following her husband Norman’s unexpected death in 1978, she began traveling extensively, visiting Alaska and other parts of the United States, Japan, Scandinavia, USSR, United Kingdom and mainland Europe several times. She enjoyed everything from heli-hiking in the Canadian Rockies to dipping her toes in the waters off Cape Cod. Hope traveled with her sister, Phyllis, the director of Trinity United Methodist Church choir of Denver, CO, and sang in many classic venues including Prague, Vienna, Moscow, Leningrad, and Carnegie Hall in New York City. She moved to Fergus Falls, Minnesota, in the summer of 2000 to be closer to her family and grandchildren. She enjoyed the arts scene in Fergus Falls, attending many concerts and shows at A Center for the Arts, Minnesota State Community and Technical College and at the Fergus Falls Public Schools. Hope made a difference in people’s lives with her kind and appreciative spirit. Her “pay-it- forward” attitude and infectious laugh touched many people and brought them together. She loved a good play on words, puns, and jokes – good or bad. She resided at Mill Street Residence from 2003 until 2010. Two of her grandchildren worked in the Mill Street dining room while she lived there. She also met many of the high school students that worked at Mill Street and was always interested in getting to know them. She moved to the Pioneer Home in November 2010 and was an active participant in “The Big Move”, along with 97 other residents, to the new Pioneer Care Center. She was predeceased by her husband of 23 years, Norman M. Garrahan, and her brother, Charles Reeves Hamilton, of St. Peter, Missouri. She is survived by her son Kenneth A. Garrahan and daughter-in-law Meg Garrahan of Albuquerque, New Mexico; and grandchildren, Shane and spouse Latoya Garrahan of Eagan, MN, Kyle Garrahan of Albuquerque, NM and Brett Garrahan of Moorhead, MN; her sister, Phyllis (Hamilton) and Omer Raup of Denver, CO, and their children Anne Raup (spouse Mark Wedekind) and Bruce Raup and Sara Thompson; and nephews and nieces: Mac Hamilton, Steven and Donna Hamilton, Danny and Pam Hamilton, Luanne (Hamilton) and Rev. Joe Putting. She is also survived by many relatives in Illinois, Missouri, Virginia, and Wyoming. Visitation: One hour prior to the service at the church Memorial Service: 11 a.m. Wednesday, January 4, 2012, at The Federated Church in Fergus Falls Clergy: Reverend Doug Dent Interment: 1 p.m. Saturday, January 7, 2012, at Meadow Branch Cemetery in Westminster, Maryland Olson Funeral Home in Fergus Falls is in charge of the arrangements. Memorials are preferred to The Federated Church or the Center for the Arts in Fergus Falls.