Miriam Virginia Arwady, a former secretary, child care provider and volunteer, died of complications from dementia Sunday at her Towson home. She was 95.

Born Miriam Virginia Joseph in Baltimore and raised near Patterson Park, she was the daughter of Abe Joseph, a linen importer, and Alma Foxx, a homemaker.

She was a 1937 graduate of Eastern High School and received a diploma from Strayer's Business College in downtown Baltimore. She became a private secretary to a general working at the Edgewood Arsenal in Harford County.

In 1944, she graduated from a nurse's aide's training program at Johns Hopkins Hopital.

In 1945, she married William Arwady, an appliances sales representative. They had met at a United Service Organization dance during World War II.

“They saw each other across the room, and that was it,” said her daughter, Katherine Broadwater of Catonsville. “Their eyes met.”

“She called him her prince, and she was his princess,” said her son, Joseph Arwady of Brookside, N.J.

“Both of them grew up during the Great Depression and came to adulthood during World War II,” he said. “They were thankful for every opportunity to work hard and build a better life.”

After raising her family. Mrs. Arwady worked for the U.S. Postal Service in downtown Baltimore. After retiring, she opened her home to provide day care.

“She did not simply baby-sit, but taught reading, gardening and how to engage with the world,” her son said.

Family members said Mrs. Arwady attended yard sales and flea markets, and enjoyed travel.

She sold items at annual Campus Hills community yard sales, and also enjoyed visiting local farms, where she joined family members to pick berries and produce.

She was a volunteer and prepared church bulletins for Divinity Lutheran Church. She also gave her time to a Head Start program, as well as Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland, the Senior Box Office and the Bykota Senior Center in Towson. She also read to the blind.

“She had the most soothing voice,” said her daughter. “People came to her to talk over their problems. She had a huge heart to help.”

Ms. Broadwater said her mother had long struggled with arthritis but “did not focus on herself.”

A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Divinity Lutheran Church, 1220 Providence Road in Towson.

In addition to her husband of 70 years, son and daughter, survivors include six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

—?Jacques Kelly