Amazing Grace, Lady Grace, Crazy Grace, Grumpy Grace, Grandma Grace, Nanny ... No matter what you called her, she was quite simply, the best.
She was the best kind of friend. Grace could make friends with anyone ... and anywhere. Though she never met them in person, she had friends around the country at dance suppliers. They would call her to let her know if they would be off work, or if they were sick, because she befriended them. When we traveled, by day two, she and the housekeeping staff would be on first name basis. They’d be bringing her extra coffee and making towel animals for her. She just had a way of connecting with everyone on a personal level. She wasn’t the friend you’d meet for lunch or coffee, but she was the one who would text you out of the blue to let you know she was thinking of you. She was true.
She was the best “dance mom.” Our studio family was her family. You were her children and grandchildren, you were her daughters and sons, you were her sisters and brothers. If she adopted you through the studio, you were loved and cared for as her own.
When you find a stray sequin or speck of glitter you just can’t shake off ... remember Grace.
She was the best family. Wife to James; mother to Lisa, Deborah, Mark and Jimmy; Nanny to Brenden, Gianna, Sebastian, Julia, Eliza, Tessa, Madeline, Marigrace, Courtny and Trace; “Other Mom” “Sister” “Grandma Grace” to thousands over the last 50 years or so ... we were all so lucky to have the best.
Grace was like the moon; her life revolved around others, content in the shadows, reflecting their light to help them shine. Her greatest joy came from helping others be their best. She was the embodiment of the “man behind the curtain.”
As a friend aptly put it, “the Grace-sized hole will be impossible to fill.”
A celebration of Grace will be held 5-9 p.m. Saturday, April 24 at the Masonic Temple, Crawfordsville.
A scholarship in her memory has been created. Visit any HHSB branch to donate to the Grandma Grace Memorial Scholarship Fund. Contributions can also be mailed to Humans United for Equality, RE: Grandma Grace Scholarship, at P.O. Box 484, Crawfordsville, IN 47933.
Condolences may be left at www.huntandson.com.
