Person Page 623

Georgian Claire Rawlinson was born on 16 January 1915 in Greenwood, Dover, Delaware.^1,2 She and David Reitler Tashjian were married in 1938 in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo, Michigan.¹ She died on 27 February 2005, at age 90, in Cupertino, Santa Clara, California.²

Georgian Claire Rawlinson was a Mother/ Poet/ Teacher/Reseacher.¹ The Rawlinson Center in Michigan fosters teaching and research in the history and culture of Anglo-Saxon England and in the broader field of manuscript studies. Dedicated to the memory of the founder of the chair of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University, and established through a gift from Georgian Rawlinson Tashjian and David Reitler Tashjian, the Center opened in May 1994.
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Georgian and David worked on publishing a book together. It is Richard Rawlinson: A Tercentenary Memorial, by Georgian R. Tashjian, David R. Tashjian, and Brian J. Enright. Hardcover (March 1990) New Issues Press; ISBN: 0932826237. This book describes the roots and life of Richard Rawlinson in medieval England. She began this extensive research in hopes of discovering information about the Rawlinson heritage (her father's background), but, was unable to discover any links beyond Frederick Rawlinson. However, Richard Rawlinson has not been connected to our Rawlinson genealogy or heritage, as yet. Nonetheless, she and her husband chose to publish their extensive work.
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In May 2000, Pamela Jean Pohly interviewed Georgian Rawlinson Tashjian, asking her to recall memories. Georgian said that her earliest memory was when she was 5 to 7 years old, living in Delaware. Her uncle George Berden had taken a teaching position in the Philippines because a lot of American "activity was occurring in the Philippines." When he returned to the U.S., he visited the house in Delaware. Georgian remembers that he brought back many bright dyes, panama hats, fabrics and Filipino silks. Nora Belle Rawlinson and Margaret Rawlinson (Svoboda) unfolded all of these items in the sunshine. The whole front porch was covered with these bright and colorful things. Georgian also remembers that George Berden brought his sister Nora some pearls. Georgian believes that this may have occurred between 1921 and 1922. She also has memories (between 1921-1925) in Delaware of going to school, and walking about a mile and a half to get there. She was very close to her brother John then. Her father had planted strawberries in the fields around their rural house. Georgian remembers that times were hard and that the children had to work in these fields, picking strawberries for hours before school. The strawberry fields and fruit were "elegant". Georgian remembers her mother (Nora) was a sweet and loving mother. Every night, Nora Belle would say a nightly prayer with Georgian, "Now I lay me down to sleep...." Georgian said that, even today, she feels safe at night when she says that prayer.

When she was 10 years old, in 1925, the family, without their father, moved to Virginia. Georgian's father did not live with Georgian again, after Delaware. They moved into the rural home of "Aunt Maggie" (Margaret Mater Young). Georgian recalls that the Virginia kids thought that she and her Delaware siblings were "Yankees". During these years, "Mother" (Nora B. Rawlinson) made all of the clothing, including difficult items like brother John's trousers. "Mother was always mending clothes". All clothes were handed down from sibling to sibling also. Mother (Nora Belle) worked as a teacher in rural Virginia, supporting her family. Georgian's sister Margaret had to help with the housework and kitchen chores, such as baking. (Margaret would have been 16 years old and Georgian was 10, when they moved to Virginia.) Georgian also remembers a time when baby chicks were raised in the kitchen. Georgian recalls the delicious "boiled suet pudding with hard sauce" they enjoyed every New Year's. Georgian recalls that Woods was a good gardener in Virginia. She remembers that Woods would have money, perhaps from his gardening, and would buy popcorn. If his sisters and brothers wanted to have the popcorn, Woods required that they would have to do work for him to "earn the popcorn". Georgian remembers that she began her love for poetry in high school, learning about rhyme and rhythm then. She wrote poems. John and Georgian both graduated from highschool the same year, in 1932.

The family lived together at Aunt Maggie's house from 1915 to 1932, when Georgian and John moved to Michigan so that the older children could attend college in Michigan. (sisters Mabel, Jean, Mary and Margaret Rawlinson and Woods Rawlinson remained in Virginia). In 1932, Nora Belle, Margaret, John and Georgian all drove together to Michigan in order to deliver John and Georgian to college there. Why Michigan? Their father's sister, "Aunt Eleanor" was on the faculty at the university there and had suggested that she could be helpful in getting John and Georgian to go to college. Georgian remembers that Aunt Eleanor Berden was a Professor of English. She recalls her as "a real personage", who expected perfection. Aunt Eleanor was not one to go to for sympathy and was hard on Georgian in many ways. Mabel and Woods Rawlinson each eventually joined Georgian and John in Michigan in order to attend school and find work.

During the late 1930s, Mary and Jean lived with their older sister Margaret Rawlinson Svoboda. During the latter 1930s years, eventually Mary and Jean all moved to Michigan. In about the summer of 1937, Georgian recalls that she was now working in Michigan, and sent money to her mother to assist her in buying a new car from George Berden so that her mother could move to Kalamazoo for work. Nora Belle Rawlinson moved to Michigan in the late 1930s to find work as a teacher there. Then, in 1938, Mother was without a car and bought John Rawlinson's "brown Chevrolet". Nora Belle worked at "Slack School" outside Kalamazoo and lived on Locust Street. During these years, Georgian recalls that her brother Woody "was cute with his flying, very handsome, quick witted and lots of fun."

Georgian remembers that when her brother John (who worked for Firestone) was transferred to a rubber plant in Africa in late 1938, Georgian took him to the train station and "cried painfully" because he was leaving. He would remain in Africa for 10 years. Georgian gave birth to her first child David in 1940 in Kalamazoo. Since she was married in 1939, she and her husband moved to Baltimore, before, during and after World War II. Her mother Nora and sister Mary resided in Michigan during the war. Sisters Jean and Margaret were in Virginia. In 1943, her mother Nora went to Seattle when her brother Woody's first child Sharan was born there. During this time, Georgian felt separated from her family, since her brother John was in Africa and her sister Mabel was killed in early 1940s.
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David Reitler Tashjian was born on 22 June 1911 in Bronson Hospital, Kalamazoo, Michigan.¹ He and Georgian Claire Rawlinson were married in 1938 in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo, Michigan.¹ He died on 14 October 1997, at age 86, in Cupertino, California.¹ He was buried on 16 October 1997 in Alta Mesa Memorial Park, Palo Alto, California.¹

David Reitler Tashjian was educated in Massachusetts Inst. of Technology Masters in Physics.¹ He was an Electrical Engineer in Lockheed.¹ The following was excerpted from Commencement Exercises June 1959, Michigan: "I have the honor of presenting to you David Reitler Tashjian. Mr. Tashjian is only eight years younger than this University, which gave him his first twelve years of education and later his teacher training. Both student and University have matured after having weathered the difficult growing years. They meet again today. Each can look with justifiable pride upon the paralleling achievements of the other. Though Mr. Tashjian and the University are still young, the phrase of the medieval scholastic defines both: recta ratio factibilium - 'the right ordering of the thing to be made, the revelation of the material.' Since 1934 when David Tashjian left the University, he has risen to the distinguished position of leadership he holds today: Manager of the Electronics Engineering Dept. of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. His achievements in the field of electronic equipment have enriched the nation's knowledge of radar, communications, and atomic reactor control. As a chief advisor to the Air Force and to the Navy, he has played a signal part in making our very lives more secure so that we may continue to expand and enrich the humanistic tradition. Therefore, Mr. President, you can be sure that David Tashjian's contributions to industry, to our country, and to the good name of this University deserve the recognition I ask you to grant him, the honorary degree of Doctor of Science."
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Obituary: "David R. Tashjian, aerospace engineer, whose work included early development of radar, laser, and microwave technologies, an electrical engineer with Lockheed, died Oct. 14 at the Forum Healthcare Center in Cupertino. A native of Michigan and resident of Los Altos for 20 or of the peninsula for 34 years, he was 86. He retired in 1976 from Lockheed Missiles and Space Corporation, where among many other projects he participated in design work on the Hubble Space Telescope. He was the holder of 40 U.S. patents. In his last years, he pursued interests in publishing and computers. He is survived by his wife, Georgian Tashjian of Cupertino; three children, David, Mary Wilde and Allan Tashjian. Memorial services were held Oct. 16 at Foothills Congregational Church in Los Altos. Interment was at Alta Mesa Memorial Park in Palo Alto."
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Robert Tashjian was born on 6 September 1945 in Baltimore, Maryland. He died on 14 March 1993, at age 47, in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.^1,2

Cause of death - AIDS.

Mabel Virginia Rawlinson was born on 19 March 1917 in Greenwood, Delaware. She died on 23 August 1943, at age 26, in Florida.

Mabel Virginia Rawlinson was a Pilot with WASP, Army Air Corp WWII.¹
Mabel Rawlinson was one of a small number of women who died as pilots serving in the Army Air Corp in WWII. Mabel died alone, flying then crashing, at night, testing inferior planes for the government. Since women were not recognized as heros in WWII, nor were they recognized as actual veterans, Mabel's heroic death sserving her country was not recognized by the US until 1972, at wich time her mother was formally provided with the du she deserved having lost a child to war. Since 1972, of course, women have been recognized correctly within the armed forces.

Over 50 years ago, at a time when America was desperate for gasoline, money for war bonds and a few good men, something extraordinary happened. 1,857 young women pilots from all over the United States quit their jobs and left the safety of their homes and families to go to Texas. Some went by car, some by bus, others hitched or rode the train, a few even traveled by plane, but they all paid their own way. They all went to Texas because they loved to fly. They went to Texas because their country needed them! Lest we ever forget their service or their sacrifice...

The demand for male combat pilots and warplanes left the Air Transport Command with a shortage of experienced pilots to ferry planes from factory to a point of embarkation. The leaders remembered Love's proposal and hired her to recruit twenty-five of the most qualified women pilots in the country to ferry military aircraft. These outstanding women pilots were called the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron, or WAFS. By September 14, 1942, General Henry "Hap" Arnold, Commanding General of the Army Air Forces, also approved a program that would train a large group of women to serve as ferrying pilots. The training school was placed under the direction of Cochran. The program was called the Army Air Force Women's Flying Training Detachment (WFTD). On August 5, 1943, the WAFS and the WFTD were merged and were redesignated the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASP. Cochran was appointed Director, and Love was named WASP executive with the ATC Ferrying Division.
After completing her basic training in the class called WASP Class 43-W-3, Mabel, a former library employee from Kalamazoo, Michigan, reported to Camp Davis Army Air Field in North Carolina. Here she was to support anti aircraft artillery training by towing targets behind A24s. She first received additional training for the A24s including night flying. What made night flying particularly hazardous was that all lights at the field, including runway lights, were turned off at dusk. One night, while coming in on final approach for her second landing, the landing gear of her A24 hit the tops of the tall sea pines that surrounded the field. The plane nosed down, hit the ground, and split in two. The instructor in the back seat was thrown clear. Mabel was trapped in the front of the plane as it went up in flames, the canopy release for her cockpit was known not to function from the inside. The planes used for training and flown by the WASP were aircraft that had been returned from combat duty and were minimally maintained due to lack of parts.
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The following was copied from a Memorial Booklet "Thirty Eight American Women Pilots" published by the Texas Womens University Press: "Mabel Virginia Rawlinson was born... on March 19, 1917. She graduated from Western Michigan College of Education, Kalamazoo, Michigan, and served as secretary for Kalamazoo Public Library. She enjoyed singing and sports, especially tennis. She served as Sergeant in Civil Air Patrol. She belonged to the Aviatrix Club of Kalamazoo. When she joined the WASP, she gave her share of an Aeronica Chief to her sister, Mary Rawlinson. Mabel loved life and people. She was vivacious and loved to write. A master of words, she no doubt would have been an author if she had survived WWII. While serving with a tow-target squadron at Camp Davis Army Air Field, North Carolina, Mabel crashed with her instructor in an A-24 on August 23, 1943. Mabel was buried in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She had six brothers and sisters in Virginia, Maryland, Washington, Michigan and West Africa."
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The following was written by General Henry H. Arnold, Commanding General Army Air Forces, December 7, 1944, at Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas: "The WASP have completed their mission. Their job has been successful. But as is usual in war, the cost has been heavy. Thirty-eight WASP have died while helping their country move toward the moment of final victory. The Air Forces will long remember their service and their final sacrifice."
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The following was written by Mary Rawlinson Creason, the sister of Mabel, in March 1999: "I have done extensive research and have discovered the reason for the accident. The aircraft developed mechanical problems after take off from the Camp Davis runway, and it was necessary for Mabel and her instructor, who was checking her out at night, to come back for landing. Last year I talked with another WASP who was eyewitness, in fact, she was supposed to follow Mabel in her aircraft, but had to return to the ramp because of an aircraft problem. I have this documented if anyone wants it. I remember well receiving the call in the middle of the night on August 23, 1942. A loud voice read my mother and me a telegram, "We regret to inform you that your daughter has been killed . . ." We were told by Bertha Link who accompanied Mabel's body home that the aircraft caught fire in the air. Last year I talked to the widow of the flight instructor, and she said he had talked about the crash a lot. He said there was nothing to do but follow procedures and "take it in." Mabel was in no way at fault. What was at fault was the latch -- yes, the latch could not be opened from the inside of the aircraft -- there was no way Mabel could have exited. It has been my hope always that she was unconscious from fumes prior to the crash. Mabel would not have liked being billed as a "librarian and a singer" -- she was a professional secretary for Flora Roberts at the Kalamazoo Public Library (KPL) and she sang only for the church choir and her own (and our) entertainment. She and your grandmother signed up each year for the Kalamazoo community production of "The Messiah." (Knowing I couldn't carry a tune, I was not invited to participate.) I worked at the KPL also while Mabel was employed there -- she was a highly respected member of the staff. I stayed with KPL part time throughout my college years, and had planned on going on to get my masters in Library Science. Then I got interested in two things -- Bill Creason and flying. So long, library work. Pam, I know you copied this material from books -- I've read them all. Sadly, the authors did not do their homework."
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