[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 88 (Wednesday, June 3, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E827]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 A MEMORIAL TRIBUTE TO MARY LOIS NEVINS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 3, 2015

  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of Mary 
Lois Minton Nevins, of Pasadena, California, a well-known and respected 
community leader who passed away on Monday, May 25, 2015.
   Mary Lois Minton was born on December 6, 1924 in Long Island, New 
York. Her father, Henry Miller Minton, was a lieutenant colonel in the 
Army Air Corps during World War II and was stationed at the Santa Ana 
Army Airbase in California; consequently, the Minton family moved to 
Newport Beach, California. Ms. Minton was a graduate of Westover School 
and Vassar, where she studied chemistry. In 1946, Mary Lois married 
Richard Nevins and moved to Pasadena, where they raised their children, 
Richard, William, and Henry.
   As a young mother and wife, Mary Lois, along with her husband, 
became extremely active in Democratic Party politics, volunteering for 
the California Young Democrats, the Altadena-Pasadena Young Democrats, 
the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Club and the California Democratic 
Council, and working on countless local, state and national campaigns.
   Ms. Nevins was also incredibly passionate about issues surrounding 
early childhood education and disadvantaged youth. In 1964, she pursued 
a teaching credential from Los Angeles State College, and after student 
teaching in 1965 at Markham Junior High School and Jordan High School 
in Los Angeles, she joined the Episcopal Home for Children (now known 
as Hillsides) where she taught at-risk children for nearly two decades. 
During her career at Hillsides, she founded the Tutor-Friend Volunteer 
program that brought together Hillsides students with local college and 
high school students. In 1990, Mary Lois joined the board of Pacific 
Oaks College, an institution known for its excellent early childhood 
education programs, where she served as chair, leader and mediator 
until 1997. A pioneer in promoting the two-generation learning concept, 
Ms. Nevins was a key leader and generous supporter of the Mothers' Club 
Family Learning Center in Pasadena, a non-profit that provides high-
quality education to the area's needy parents and children. She served 
as President of the Board from 1988 to 1992.
   Preceded in death by her husband, Richard Nevins, a former member of 
the California State Board of Equalization, Mary Lois is survived by 
her sons, Richard, William and Henry; her grandchildren, Richard, 
Sarah, Katharine, Casey, Austin, and Wynn; her siblings, Hatheway 
Hasler, Helen Farley, and Dwight Minton; and many other family members.
   Remembered in her community as a generous, compassionate and strong 
woman, Mary Lois will be greatly missed. I ask all members to join me 
in remembering one of Pasadena's most beloved citizens, Mary Lois 
Nevins.

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