Sally Griswold

Sally was born to Mary Galloway Kenny & John J. Kenny on May 28, 1917, the youngest of eight. She grew up in Cleveland Heights happily enjoying her neighbors, friends and classmates at St. Ann's and Heights High. She loved being a summer camp counselor in Les Cheneaux Islands on Lake Huron and spent her first college year at Flora Stone Mather before transferring to the University of Michigan where she lived in Martha Cook, one of the finest dormitories in Ann Arbor.

1942 found her teaching physical education at Hathaway Brown School when she married Bruce Griswold, a mathematics instructor at University School who went on to get his law degree, spend a couple of years as a U. S. Supreme Court Clerk and become a partner in the firm Calfee, Halter & Griswold. They had four children, Janet de Villeneuve (Andrew Newmark), of Kent, England, James B. Griswold (Jane) of Shaker Heights, OH, John A. Griswold (Debra) of Amelia Island, FL and Thomas B. Griswold (Kelly McCarthy) of Indianapolis, IN. Grandmother of Daisy and Poppy de Villeneuve, Katherine Griswold (Douglas Nachand), James Griswold (Sarah Rea), Alyssa Sprouse (Kevin), Sarah Kamienski (Chris), Sam, Lucy, William, Charles, Sally and Finley Mae Griswold, Sally also had eight great-grandchildren. With children and grandchildren scattered across the USA and in several countries, she managed to keep a great family feeling alive and thriving.

Her interest in education began with PTA and included two terms on the Shaker Heights School Board, Chairman of the Visiting Committee for Western Reserve College of Case Western Reserve University and a member of its board of overseers as well as being Chairman of the Board of Trustees of John Carroll University (in 1981, after being active there since 1968) and where she had received her Master's Degree in Guidance & Counseling, along with an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree in 1988.

Other volunteer work led from the League of Woman Voters and St. Luke's Hospital to being a member of the Children Services Board and Children's Council at the Welfare Federation. Sally was also on the Distribution Committee of the Cleveland Foundation, a board member of The Free Clinic, an active member of the Board of Trustees of Benjamin Rose Foundation, United Way and the Golden Age Centers of Greater Cleveland, to name a few. She was a Consulting Director of Bancohio National Bank and a Director and Executive Committee Member of the Greater Cleveland Growth Association.

When accepting the Margaret Ireland Award for outstanding community and civic leadership at the Women's City Club, Sally mentioned that being a wife and mother had been two important dimensions in her life, followed by volunteering and a fourth dimension of being a grandmother. She was honored by the Girl Scouts several years ago.

In 2005 Sally was honored by the Board of Directors of the Vocational Guidance Services, VGS, with the Herbert E. Strawbridge Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognizes an individual's outstanding work on behalf of VGS services that support individuals with disabilities or societal disadvantages.

Sally lived on Duffield Road in Shaker Heights for 60 years, an active member of the local community - teaching physical education at Mercer School, attending Gesu Church where she was in their Bowling League and curling for the Cleveland Skating Club. Her last 9 years were happily spent as a resident of Laurel Lake where she was an elected member of the Residence Council. Sally continued her lifelong interest in learning, fostered by the various classes on offer, many taught by excellent local professors. Hearing difficulties were overcome with books on tape. Cooking, especially baking, was still a big part of her life and Sally was making cookies until the week before her death, despite difficulties with vision. She was extremely proud to be on the board of the Cleveland Sight Center, one of her favorite charities.



PDF Printable Version