Milagros Salao Pickard

Mila was born in Iloilo City, Philippines. She graduated from Universidad de San Augustin in 1972, with a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics. She was a public-school teacher for five years, then was the nutritionist for the Province of Iloilo. She met Robert Evins Pickard, a Peace Corps Volunteer, and they were married in 1979. She worked as a language instructor for Peace Corps, then she and her husband Bob were teachers of Indochinese at the Refugee Processing Center in Bataan. They moved to Nashville, Bob’s hometown. She was a group home manager until joining the Davidson County Sheriff’s office in 1996, as a Prisoner Processing Specialist. She retired in 2007.

Mila loved to cook, a skill she learned from her mother, a caterer, and gardening; her home Barrio was renowned for its gardeners. She enjoyed travel, as she did with Bob, to areas of Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, and North America. She was a devout Roman Catholic, and a parishioner of Saint Edwards and later Saint Henry’s Churches. Funeral masses will be held in Nashville and Iloilo City after the Coronavirus has passed. Her ashes will be entombed in Iloilo City, where Bob will eventually join her.

Mila is survived by her husband Bob, her daughter Bianca Reotutar (Eddie) of Gathersburg, MD, grandsons Brandon and Gavin, and many family members in the Philippines, United States, and Australia. All who knew her loved her. She will always be remembered as a sweet, smart and delightful lady.

In lieu of flowers, contributions should be sent to the Jack Justin Turner Scholarship Fund at Middle Tennessee State University, MTSU P.O. Box 109

Murfreesboro, TN 37132, Attn: Meredith Kerr.