Maya McGavin died peacefully in her sleep at Pilgrim Manor Senior Living in Grand Rapids, Michigan on September 7, 2019. While she was born on October 24, 1927 in Abington, PA, the first four years of her life were spent in her mother's birthplace of Heidenheim, Germany. German was her first language. Maya attended University of Michigan High School while her father, Hans Hof, published his books on Trigonometric Functions and Algorithms. Later, the family moved back to Abington, PA, where she graduated from Abington High School in 1945. After high school Maya worked in Philadelphia at Strawbridge and Clothiers, as an assistant to the merchandising manager. She went on to receive her Associate's Degree in Interior Design from the Moore College of Art in Philadelphia. She married Paul Peter McGavin, an Industrial Engineer, in Glenside, PA in 1954 and began a family in Parkville, MD, later moving to Upper St. Clair, PA, Berwyn, PA, and Niskayuna, NY. When her children were in high school, as a trained interior designer, Maya became the top saleswoman for Concord House, an Ethan Allen furnishings store, in Colonie, NY. From 1984 to 2013, Maya lived in Leola, PA in the Pennsylvania Amish Country to take care of her mother. Her home bordered on thousands of acres of Amish farmland that her family affectionately referred to as the "meadow-terranian." Maya was an active member of Trinity Lutheran Church in New Holland, PA, singing in the choir, and advising the Vestry on a redesign of the church lobby, selecting floor tiles and wall colors that made the space warm and inviting. From 2013 - 2019 she lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan at two assisted living facilities near her daughter Lynn Marie McIntosh and son-in-law Michael Henry McIntosh. Maya's smile was life-giving. She truly bloomed wherever she was planted. Everyone who knew her fell in love with her as a caring woman who always dressed elegantly and had kind words for all. Maya will be dearly missed by all of those whose lives she touched with her deep faith, her love of family and friends, her love of art, music, interior design, and poetry, her love of gourmet cooking and sewing as well as her witty sense of humor and her tenacious, intelligent, and gracious ways. Maya is predeceased by her dearly loved parents, Hans and Marie (Wiedenmann) Hof, formerly of Leola, PA, in Lancaster County. She is survived by Laurie Ann McGavin Bachmann and her husband Peter of Ridgefield CT, Lynn Marie McIntosh and her husband, Michael of Rockford, Michigan, and Paul Hans McGavin and his wife Susie of Petaluma, CA and 5 grandchildren, Jenny, Caralise and Kate McIntosh, Maya Julie Bachmann and Kiera McGavin. A celebration of Maya's life will take place on October 24, 2019 at Christ Church, 2500 Breton Road, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. There will be a time of visitation with the family at the church from 10:00 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. followed by an 11:30 Celebration of Life service. A light luncheon will be provided. Please join us in remembering and celebrating the precious life of Maya McGavin.



Service Information

Visitation
When: Thursday, October 24, 2019 10:00am - 11:30am
Location: Christ Church
Address: 2500 BReton RoadGrand Rapids,Mi 49546

Service
When: Thursday, October 24, 2019 11:30am
Location: Christ Church
Address: 2500 BReton RoadGrand Rapids,Mi 49546