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GARWOOD -- Naomi Garwood was born on April 30, 1921 in Chesterfield, MO and died on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 in Albuquerque. She is survived by son, Sterling and wife, Karen of Asheville, NC; son, Michael, and wife, Ulrike of Melbourne, Australia, and son, Christopher and wife Mary Sue of Albuquerque, NM. She has four grandchildren, Sterling J. Garwood, Laura Behrens, Max Garwood, and Tristan Garwood, and four great grandchildren, Whitney Garwood, Lauren Garwood, Sean Garwood, and Tyler Behrens. Naomi grew up in Quincy, Illinois and graduated from Quincy High School in 1939, and Quincy College in 1942. After college she joined the military serving in the Navy's Wave unit as a meteorologist during World War II. She married Sterling R. Garwood in 1946. Her husband, a veteran himself, continued to work for the U.S. government as a courier. His work took them to Washington, D.C where their first son was born, to the Philippines where their second son was born, and to Germany where they had their third son. After returning to America, Naomi was a mother and housewife until she went back to college to earn a teaching certificate. She taught elementary school in Chester, New Jersey from 1958 until 1965. In 1965 Naomi and Sterling accepted teaching positions at The International School of Bangkok in Bangkok, Thailand. In 1966 they moved from there to Vientiane, Laos, and in 1968 to Lashkar Gah Afghanistan, onto La Paz, Bolivia in 1970, and in 1972 to Khartoum, Sudan where they taught in schools for American dependents. With their world travels over they arrived in Silver City, NM in 1973 where Sterling took post graduate coursework at Western New Mexico University. In 1974 they moved to Santa Fe, NM where Naomi taught Reading and Science at De Vargas Junior High School for 23 years. There she was nominated by her peers and received an Excellence in Teaching Award from Santa Fe Partners in Education. Naomi received a master of arts from St. John's College Graduate Institute in 1979. Naomi also volunteered at the U.N.I.C.E.F. shop in downtown Santa Fe. She and her husband moved to Albuquerque in 2001 to live near their family. Naomi continued volunteer work at Carlos Rey Elementary School in Albuquerque. Naomi's friends and family members will remember her to be the sweetest, kindest person that one could know and who never had an unkind word for anyone. The world is a bit heavier at her passing. Arrangements for a memorial service made entrusted to Direct Funeral Services scheduled at the Santa Fe National Cemetery on Wednesday, September 10, 2008 at 1:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to American Heart Association at: donate.americanheart.org.
        Published on: Sun September 07, 2008