Christine Benedict Garo

She was born in Boston, MA on October 9, 1925 to the late Eric George Benedict and Myra Christine Welles Benedict. She was raised in Wellesley, MA, attended the Dana Hall School and was a member of the Boston Skating Club. She graduated from Vassar College in June 1946 with a BA in Art History. The following year she married Robert J. Orr and moved to Denver, CO. Over the ensuing years she lived in Lakin, KS, Leesburg, VA, Lexington, MA, Washington, DC, Bethesda, MD and recently in Wichita, KS. Using the skills she learned at Vassar, Kiki worked in the Harvard Fund office in Boston, and later, in the offices of two US Congressmen. She was a founding director of Washington Opportunities for Women, a non-profit organization assisting women to find employment positions in business, and for which she was named a “Washingtonian of the Year” in 1975. Later that year she joined the American Association of Railroads as the Personnel Officer, retiring in 1987.

She loved travelling the globe with her husband, Lucien P. Garo, visiting many locations in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Bermuda, and Alaska. She enjoyed reading, participating in book club discussions, gardening, going to the seashore, and teaching water aerobics classes into her 90’s. She and her husband Lou were members of the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Bethesda, MD and participated in the church’s outreach program providing food to the homeless at Street Church.

In addition to Lucien Garo, she is preceded in death by her husband Thomas P. Nelson. She leaves behind her two children, Robert J. Orr (Patricia) of Waverly, GA and Phoebe C. Orr-Richardson (Thomas) of Wichita, KS, five stepchildren, Cecelia Bruno (Mario), Lucien Garo Jr. (Debbie), Adrienne Garo, Elizabeth Garo, Monique Duke (Dan), 6 grandchildren, 14 step-grandchildren and 15 great and step great- grandchildren children.

Private burial.

A memorial service to celebrate Kiki’s life will be held at 11 am on Friday, October 28, at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, 6201 Dunrobbin Dr., Bethesda, Maryland. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Church of the Epiphany for the Street Church fund, 1317 G Street NW, Washington DC 20005, https://onrealm.org/EpiphanyDC/-/give/Offerings; Montgomery County Humane Society, 601 S Stonestreet Ave, Rockville, MD, 20850.