Eileen Garrett

Madison- Eileen M. Garrett died on February 7, 2014, after a short illness. She was born in Proctor, MN on March 10, 1922, to Mary and Paul Carow, and grew up in Madison. After receiving a BA from UW-Madison, she trained as an accountant and then worked in Detroit and San Francisco. New Orleans was the next city on her itinerary, but John T. Garrett pursued, wooed, and won her. They were married in 1951 and she spent the next two decades raising their three children. In the next phase of her life she and John travelled all over the USA, and then toured Germany, Italy, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, England, Ireland, Turkey, China, Japan, Bali, Thailand, and Singapore.
In childhood she developed an intense love of opera, and every closet in her house was stuffed with opera tapes and CDs.
She is preceded in death by her husband John, her granddaughter Kristine Lou, and her brother Bill. She is survived by her daughters Mary and JoAnne (Brad Wray) and her son John, and the many members of her cherished Carow family.
The family would like to thank Agrace Hospice Care of Fitchburg for their compassionate care at the very end of her illness.
A celebration of Eileen's long and rich life will be held at CRESS FUNERAL HOME, 6021 University Ave., on Saturday, February 15. There will be an informal visitation from 10 am-1 pm, and at 12:30 pm her children will share a few words of remembrance.
Donations in her memory may be made to Madison Opera or to the Humane Society of the United States.