79, of Phoenix passed away peacefully on February 20, 2016. She is preceded in death by her husband Michael of 42 years. Anita is survived by her sons Michael II, Mark (Karen) and daughter Lisa (Craig) Haynes, sister LaVon Arms, brother William Gehrke, 8 loving grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. A Memorial Visitation will be held from 5:00 – 7:00 PM with a Rosary at 6:30 PM on Thursday, March 3, 2016 at Whitney & Murphy Funeral Home, 4800 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 1:00 PM, Friday, March 4, 2016 at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, 2312 E. Campbell Avenue, Phoenix. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church.
Penny Papadopoulos/ President, Phoenix Chapter/ARCS Foundation
All of Anita’s friends at ARCS Foundation will greatly miss her smile, her laugh and her enthusiasm for life!
Diane Might, ARCS Foundation Phoenix Chapter
Anita was a vivacious and enthusiastic member of ARCS Foundation Phoenix Chapter. She was delightful to work with. Her heartfelt interest in wanting to know how our special needs grandson was doing every time we met warmed the soul. It was a privilege to know her and she will be greatly missed.
Chip Doss, The Capital Preservation Group
When I attended Brophy Prep with Anita’s son, Mark, I had the occasional privilege of sleeping over at the Galvin home in the North Central Corridor. She made the kind of home most people only dream of having. She even kept smiling when the family lived through a renovation that punched a hole right through her kitchen. Mark and I were orators and debaters at Brophy and spent many hours and meals with her fully engaged in a vast array of philosophical and political discussions that at times became very intense as she was both articulate and passionate and I was just an opinionated liberal kid with a huge vocabulary who liked to hear himself talk. After a particularly heated discussion one night she ended our conversation by stating that we agree to disagree and then she smiled and said that if you’re under 20 and conservative you have no heart but if you’re over 30 and liberal you simply have no brain, and off to bed she went. Thank you darling. You will be sorely missed by all.
Pat Elder, ARCS Foundation Chapter Phoenix
Several years ago I had the privilege or co-chairing the annual ARCS Scholar Awards Dinner with Anita. She was such a good mentor to me and we shared many laughs in the months that we worked together. I will always remember Anita for caring about others, her faith and entering the room with a big smile and hearty laugh. God bless.