Juanita Girand
Dec. 8, 1937-April 1, 2015
Palo Alto, California

Juanita Jones Girand was born in 1937 in the then Panama Canal Zone. She was the desperately-sought-after only child from an extended family, the granddaughter of American pioneers who had emigrated to Panama in search of better lives. At the time of steamships, her young life was punctuated by travel to and from the United States, visiting various extended family. She became valedictorian of her high school class and matriculated at Duke University where she was named one of the Seven Most Beautiful Freshmen to Watch, which put her on the radar of James Girand. She was the president of Zeta Tau Alpha and later became engaged. In 1959, she became the first woman in her family to graduate from college, and she moved to Cambridge where she worked in a laboratory until they married at the end of the following year.

Together, they effectively served a stint at Wright Patterson Air Force base before moving to Palo Alto in 1964. They lived in Greenmeadow until 1980 and then moved to Crescent Park, where they have resided for the last 35 years. During the time that Nita was raising three daughters, she volunteered extensively for St. Mark's Episcopal Church on Colorado Avenue, in the Episcopal Church Women and on the Vestry and Diocesan Council, and she was an active member of a prayer group. She also supported her aging parents, who relocated to the area in 1968. Once her daughters left for college, she took courses for three years in Education for the Ministry, and she worked part-time as an administrative assistant in the Aero-Astro Department at Stanford University. Her interests were wide and varied, from zoology to art and cooking; she was an avid reader.

As her grandchildren began to arrive, her time became split between traveling with her husband and children, supporting children and grandchildren, and developing a reputation as a card shark at bridge. At the time of her death, she had accumulated more than 746 Master's Points.

Nita was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer during July of 2009. She underwent both radiation and chemo before it was discovered that she was a candidate for a targeted chemotherapy administered by pill, which kept the cancer in check for more than four years. It then metastasized to the fluid in her brain, and she was given about three months to live. Despite faltering balance and memory -- side effects of the medication -- she gave cancer a complete run for its money, dying outside the limits of every prediction of how long she would live. She was blessed in this last year to have had the comfort and attention of some of the finest human beings on Earth: friends she had held close for decades.

She was known for her deep and abiding empathy, support and love. She had a particular gift with children. When anyone needed a "mom," she was always there. Her wish was to live long enough to see her grandchildren grow up to embody the values and love that she gave. Now, her work of nurturing children and grandchildren is done.

She is survived by her husband, James F. Girand of Palo Alto, California; daughters, Lisa Lawson of Piedmont, California, Juanita Goggins of Hillsborough, California, and Laurie Girand of San Juan Capistrano, California; and grandchildren, Bryn and Campbell Lawson, Connor and Ryan Goggins, and Anna, Liam and Aili McGregor. We were so blessed to have her.