Eva Packard

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October 1, 2022

We were so very moved by Eva's memorial service. Especially hearing Eva’s friends Mary and Bev (David as well) speak of her generosity, humanity, thoughtfulness, loving nature, being the family organizer, genius, and her amazing accomplishments... more

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September 27, 2022

a .pdf of Eva's photo book is on Google Drive. The cover photos and the rest of the book are in two different files. Here is the link to see them.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Q2h5voB--tYazdFR1FMEyCqqTHF3M0XW?usp=sharing

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September 27, 2022

In July of 2021 some of the nieces and nephews created a photo book as a gift for Aunt Eva. I have had requests from people that would like to purchase a copy of the book. If anyone is interested please let me know and I can send you a pdf version to... more

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September 25, 2022

Eva served on the LWVMI's Board from 2009-17, while I was also on the Board. Eva was the brains behind Michigan's plunge into VOTE411. Not only did she have the tech and analytical skills to navigate it, but she also wrote a local League manual that... more

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September 25, 2022 · via iPhone

Some people make an impression on your life that is far greater than the amount of time you spend with them. That is Eva for me. She meant so much to me. She inspired me, made me better, mentored me. She introduced me to many wonderful people (like Mary... more

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September 25, 2022

It's hard to know where to begin when talking about Eva's work with the League of Women Voters. This has always been one of Eva's passions. She was a member of LWV for 59 years! She was active at both the county and state level, serving on the boards... moreIt's hard to know where to begin when talking about Eva's work with the League of Women Voters. This has always been one of Eva's passions. She was a member of LWV for 59 years! She was active at both the county and state level, serving on the boards for both and holding numerous positions including President of LWV Oakland Area and VP for Voter Education of LWV Michigan. She was instrumental in making voter guides available on the Internet, recruiting me at my retirement party in 2002 to mentor Tera Moon and create the first website for LWV Oakland Area so the guides could be posted there. In her mid-70s she was traveling around the state teaching much younger League members how to use specialized software to collect the candidate information and produce these guides. She was also very involved in creating "They Represent You" brochures for 60 communities in Oakland County, updating League position policies, sponsoring candidate forums, and providing a speaker's bureau to send lecturers to groups wanting to know more about propositions on the upcoming ballot, etc.

As a result of these decades of devoted volunteer work, in 2011 Eva was awarded the prestigious Belle Brotherton award by the LWV Michigan. In introducing Eva before surprising her with the award, the League officers said ...

The Belle Brotherton award is named for the first President of the League of Women Voters of Michigan, Florence Belle Brotherton. This award honors an individual whose outstanding leadership and significant accomplishments have benefited the citizens of Michigan, inspired others and fostered greater public participation in the democratic process.

Recipients of this award have done the most to demonstrate outstanding leadership; have demonstrated significant accomplishments in support of the mission of the League at the local level; have benefited the citizens of Michigan beyond the local level; have inspired others; and have fostered greater public participation in the democratic process.

The first recipient of this award was honored in 1997 and at every State Convention since then.

The recipient of the Florence Belle Brotherton Award is a forty-eight year member of the League of Women Voters and has served in multiple leadership roles in several Local Leagues. This member truly dedicates herself to the League mission of an educated electorate. Her name is synonymous with Voter Service, having lead multiple initiatives resulting in a remarkable array of positive media coverage.

A tech savvy honoree, this member is equally adept at finance as she is in a web-based environment. She doesn’t stop until every avenue has been explored when it comes to reaching the desired outcomes that move forward the mission of the organization.

This member is adept at policy analysis and was responsible for helping to update position summaries so they would be more accessible to members and the public. Most recently, this honoree successfully lead the most comprehensive state voter service plan ever initiated. More residents, including those out of state, must credit her leadership with assuring sample ballots were accessible to all Michigan voters.

This volunteer, who first came to the United States as an immigrant, learned early from her father the love of this country and the democratic process. In her early years the seeds were sown for a lifelong commitment to and passion for active civic engagement and leadership.

Congratulations, Eva Packard, member and former President of the League of Women Voters Oakland Area and member of the LWV Michigan Board of Directors. less

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September 25, 2022

In 2002, Eva was recognized for her career and volunteer accomplishments when she received the Headliner Award, given to distinguished Wayne State University graduates by the Women of Wayne Alumni Association.

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September 25, 2022

As I said in an earlier post, education was very important to Eva. So was encouraging women to be involved in technical fields. In 2013 Eva was one of the women featured in an exhibit at the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame on careers in STEM (Science,... moreAs I said in an earlier post, education was very important to Eva. So was encouraging women to be involved in technical fields. In 2013 Eva was one of the women featured in an exhibit at the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame on careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields.

This is the text for her exhibit...

EVA PACKARD
Retired systems manager at General Motors / Electronic Data Systems, Warren, Michigan
(Lives in Farmington Hills, Michigan)

Eva’s career began when computers were just entering the corporate world. Many of these computers were large and could easily fill a room. They were also not as “user friendly” as today’s computers. Eva wrote a computer operating system that read batches of keypunched cards fed into the computer. The cards gave instructions telling the computer which program to open and use and what to do.

First Clue: Eva grew up using math at a very young age. She and her twin brother helped their parents add up monthly expenses. Eva assumed that all children did this! Her family placed a high value on education and even as a child, Eva knew that she would be attending college. It’s not a big surprise that Eva began college as an accounting major.

A New Frontier: In 1954 Eva scored high on mathematics on the college placement exam for Wayne State University. But she did not want to be a math teacher. A professor in the math department told Eva about a new area called computers. During her junior year, the math department offered its first computer course. Eva really enjoyed it. The next semester the department offered a computer lab class and asked Eva to teach it. She agreed and learned how to do particular functions from one of the computer lab professors the week before she taught it to her students – the material was just that new!

Equality in the Workforce: After graduation from college, Eva was hired by General Motors Research Laboratories as a Programmer and assigned to developing computer operating systems. The company offered Eva a salary twice the size of what her sorority sisters were making as teachers, although it was $15 a month less that one of her fellow male gradates.

Best Part of the Job: Eva loved the team she worked with, that they were pioneers in a completely new field, and that she was able to learn and grow with advances in computer science. When she began her work with computers, neither computer science nor personal computers existed. By the time she retired, Eva had seen explosive growth in the technology field and had managed projects involving telephone switches, microwave radios, fiber optic cable, and personal computers.

Advice: “Be assertive – let management know what you are interested in doing. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and to take on new challenges.” less

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September 25, 2022

Eva was a groundbreaker in computer technology. She was already well established at GM Research and recognized for her competence when I started at GMR in 1971. She definitely smoothed the path for women like me who followed her into the field.

The... more

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September 25, 2022

Education was very important to Eva and she was generous to educational institutions. Because she credited the Detroit Public School system with helping her development from an immigrant child with little English to the recipient of a scholarship to... more

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September 25, 2022

Eva was a wonderful friend. I first met her when I came to work at General Motors Research Labs, but we became close friends when we started a group of women who managed computer groups at several companies in metro Detroit. The group met monthly for... more