On Friday, June 26^th, 2020 Heaven’s peaceful melody struck a somber note for those left in the wake of Verna Mae Garin’s passing. Life, it seems, is not without a sense of poetry for some. Born on May 3^rd, 1936 her life started in the midst of the Great Depression. Conversely, her life’s ending has left its own great depression in the hearts of her survived loved ones. Her jovial soul was always so full of love and a pinch of playful menace during her 84 years on this earth.

Even in the last two weeks of her life she maintained such high spirits and continued to showcase her endearing wit during her interactions with medical staff, friends, and family. Battling an abrupt onset of cancer and other recently learned complications, she never lost her smile nor did she stop striving to see the smiles of those around her.

There was always an intensity behind her eyes and within her heart. She loved intently but could also fight passionately. However, as a true testament to her resounding love, her heart always conquered in times of conflict, always helping to settle the dust, and helping to move forward in reformed respect and renewed love.

Verna, like all of us, started out as nothing, started out with nothing, and faced plenty of competition to become who she became. She found herself at number nine out of a thirteen-sibling guild just within her own home growing up. But through all the chaos, struggle, and strife there came the foundation of hard work, love, and family. Growing up in a family of this size during the very heart of the “Great Depression” helped fortify her grit for self-reliance. She fought, she strived, and her reaping was the transformation into a strong independent woman.

After finding and courting Donald Garin, the two got married. She became a wife to the only man she would ever marry and not too soon after she became a mother. She was blessed with three children over the years and anyone who knows these now lovable hellions knows that it couldn’t have been an easy road for a mother. Like many families they found their way learning from each through love and strife. In the end, she watched her three children grow and blossom into adults.

Inherently, and maybe even unknowingly, they each extended her legacy of love when they had their own children. She donned her new title of “Grandmother” with exuberant pride and devotion. This wasn’t an easy road to travel either. She had to remain vigilante and strong for her own children as she experienced her own heartache watching the cold grip of leukemia hold onto her first grandson. Her second grandson arrived in a blanket of jaundice and colic to a newly single parent. Verna wouldn’t stand by and do nothing, and she never did. She gave everything she could to help and to comfort the lives her children and the lives of their children. She always remained apt to the call for help and for family.

Few lives are lucky to go on beyond this generational point. Few get to see the next branches of the family tree extend so far from their roots like Verna did, but she eventually found herself at a new precipice. She graciously accepted the title of “Great Grandmother” as lovingly as she had done for all the tiers of her family tree that came before.

Showcasing her amazing legacy, Verna is survived by her ex-husband/friend, Donald Garin Sr.; her brother Richard Nelson; two sons and one daughter, Donald Garin Jr., Byron Garin, and Kathleen Sanden; several grandchildren, Jason Garin, Torey (Garin), Bailey Garin, Kyle Sanden, Chris Sanden, Cody Sanden; and several great grandchildren, Makayla Garin, Zoe Garin, Amos Sanden, Esme Sanden, Ezekiel Sanden, Cayden Sanden, Landon Sanden. She also leaves behind many other step family members and close friends.

Future funeral services / celebration of life will be coordinated and communicated at a later date and time. Stay tuned.