IRMA MARIE (CALLAHAN) CARVILLE

Active clubwoman became hospitable, diligent First Lady
Irma Carville fulfilled her role as Nevada’s First Lady during World War II, drawing from her years of experience as a member of many religious and civic organizations.

Irma Callahan, daughter of John and Ada Wood Callahan, was born on December 14, 1890, in South Bend, Indiana. She grew up in a home with her siblings, Thomas, Elma Louise, Helen and Marciea. She attended St. Joseph’s Convent for Girls in South Bend, Indiana, and shortly after completing her high school education met her future husband, a native of Elko, Nevada, Edward P. Carville. He was attending Notre Dame University and just may have swept her off her feet! They were married on August 29, 1910, in Denver, Colorado, when she was just 19 years old. They moved to Elko where her husband entered the practice of law and was immediately appointed to the position of deputy district attorney.

In the early part of the 20th century, a woman’s role was that of wife, mother and homemaker. The Carvilles had four children born in Elko. Sadly, their daughter, Doris Elizabeth, succumbed to pneumonia in March 1924 at 2 years of age. Deaths from pneumonia were common until the discovery of penicillin in early 1928 and mass production in the 1940s.

Irma was a devout Catholic and while in Elko, belonged and participated in the State Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, was a charter member of Elko Altar Society, was choir Director and organist of St. Joseph’s Church, and belonged to the Elko 20th Century Club. As a mother of three boys, she also was busy with school and athletic activities of those children and as the wife of a rising politician, she officiated at women’s functions in support of her husband.

When her husband was appointed United States attorney for the district of Nevada in 1934, the Carvilles moved to Reno, Nev. Again, Irma Carville became active in her church. She joined the St. Agnes Society, Our Lady of the Snows Altar Society and the 20th Century Club. She was patroness of the Junior Y.L.I. Taneva Council (Youth Leadership Institute) and of the Pi Phi sorority. Later, when her children were college age, she was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega Mothers Club.

In 1938, her husband ran for and was elected governor of Nevada, and Irma Callahan Carville became the 18th First Lady of Nevada. The Carvilles occupied the Governor’s Mansion for two terms.

As First Lady, Irma was noted for her hospitality and graciousness. Newspaper articles of the time noted she “has led a very active life and has always taken a great interest in civic affairs.” Politicians, especially during the years when the Carvilles were in politics, relied on their spousal support for their success, and Irma Carville appeared to have been Edward Carville’s secret weapon. She joined the Red Cross during WW II, and as noted by Florence S. Beyer in a Reno news clipping,

“When it comes to having our first lady assume her share of responsibility, Eleanor Roosevelt has nothing on Irma Carville. The latter, trim and businesslike in a becoming white uniform keeps regular hours every day at her desk at the Red Cross headquarters in the Civic Auditorium.”

In a January 19, 1939, interview, the article noted,

“Mrs. E. P. Carville, first lady of the state, could well have been born in Nevada for she most noticeably personified its true spirit of hospitality. She does not leave a caller to suffer on a straight-backed chair in the entrance hall while she continues to converse on the telephone. The call is unhesitatingly interrupted to settle her visitor in the most comfortable chair in one of her reception rooms. This spirit of friendliness has been infused into the mansion itself.”

In July 1945, her husband was appointed to the United States Senate to fill a vacancy caused by the death of former Governor James G. Scrugham, and the Carvilles moved to Washington D.C. Although her husband ran for re-election to the U.S. Senate, he was defeated by George “Molly” Malone, and the Carvilles returned to Reno, Nev., where her husband practiced law. Irma continued with her church activities.

After her husband passed away in 1956, not much is known about Irma Carville other than the fact she moved to San Rafael, California and died there on January 8, 1973. She was 82 years old and had survived her husband and her four children. She is buried in Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic Cemetery, Reno, Nev., beside her husband and their son Edward.

Written by Marcia Bernard Cuccaro. Researched by Patti Bernard. Posted December 11, 2025.