Edith L. Grodin

Edith L. Grodin, 95, exited this world as she lived: with grace and style. Edith epitomized selfless service – to her country, her community, her family, and to the arts. Edith Moreland Lewis was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, on February 20, 1917, to Harry Dwight Lewis and Mae Symington Moreland Lewis. Her service to others began as a young Girl Scout and continued as a Social Worker for several years in Boston, MA, while earning her undergraduate degree from Tufts University and completing Graduate Studies at Simmons School of Social Work. She then served as Director, Attleboro League of Women and Girls. In 1942, she volunteered for the Army and rose to the rank of First Lieutenant. She met Richard A. Grodin in the Army, and they married at Washington and Lee College in Virginia, in 1944. Their adventurous life together took them around the world while raising three children. Everywhere she traveled, Edith continued her service: in Eritrea (Ethiopia) volunteering at orphanages; in Japan, serving as co-director of Youth Activities; and in Panama, actively serving on the Army Wives’ Club and receiving an Army Commendation Medal for volunteer service. When not overseas, the family spent over 13 years in and out of the Washington, D.C. area. Between 1944 and 1969, Edith packed up the house and single-handedly moved the family, reestablished a beautiful household, and got the children settled in school over 15 times. In 1970, she retired as an Army wife, and she and COL (R) Dick Grodin moved to Jaffrey, NH. In the mid-1970s, she designed and oversaw the building of the house that has been home to the family for over 25 years. While in Japan, she trained in various forms of art – batik, clothing design, interior decoration, and oil painting. After moving to Jaffrey, she began ‘throwing’ pottery and volunteering at Sharon Arts Center, then a part of the NH League of Craftsmen. Quickly, the deep connection with the professional Arts and Crafts community grew. Edith initially became a League of NH Craftsmen Annual Fair Volunteer in the late 1970s. She then became a League Board Member, serving as President in the early 1980s and again from 1998-2002. In this capacity, she directed the reorganization of the League in 1985 when it became two entities, then led the movement to reunite the organization in 2001. She created and funded an award for Living With Crafts and is the founder and major supporter of the League Emergency Relief Fund (LERF), which helps Craftspeople in crisis. For many years, she was Chairman of the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, on the Board of the New England Foundation for the Arts, and on the Board of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. In 1999, Edith received the New Hampshire Governor’s Award for Distinguished Arts Leadership. And in 2002, was awarded the League’s Lifetime Emeritus Award for her dedication to the organization. Edith Grodin was a League member for over 35 years, a dedicated patron and advocate for the Arts in New Hampshire. Through Edith’s work with the League she allowed artists to do what they love, making a profound impact. She was also recognized as Jaffrey, NH, Citizen of the Year in 1996 and in 2002 was named a Life Member of the Jaffrey Chamber of Commerce for her generous contributions to the betterment of Jaffrey, NH. As the end grew near, friends and family called and visited. Friends and family gathered by her bed at her home in Jaffrey to show their love and celebrate her life with stories and song. She picked the songs, and sang every word. Hours before she passed, the green hills were dotted with reds, yellows, and oranges and the sun set bright oranges and red, behind her beloved Mount Monadnock, as if this world wanted to send her off in a blaze of beauty. A close family friend remarked that immediately after her passing, a jet stream appeared in front of the nearly full moon and it appeared as if all the angels had spread their wings to welcome her home. She touched hundreds of hearts through her work with artists, friends, and family. Everyone in her world became family, and Edith always made room at the Thanksgiving or Christmas table for artists who had gotten burned out of their house or needed a place to go for the holidays. She instilled in her family grace, leadership, and determination and was most admired for her ability to find the best in others. Edith inspired others to be better than they ever imagined possible. She selflessly did so much for so many, touching everyone, and leaving them forever changed. Edith is preceded in death by her parents, Harry D. Lewis and Mae S. M. Lewis. Edith Grodin leaves behind COL (R) Dick Grodin, her husband of 68 years; her three children, Richard L. Grodin of Jaffrey, NH; Gail Morgan of Castle Rock, CO; and Pamela Adrian of Reading, MA; granddaughters Lisa Leisinger of Hagerstown, MD; Kimberly Fitzmorgan of Hull, MA; Darcy Morgan of Woburn, MA; LTC Heather J. Putman, US Army, of Fairfax, VA; great-granddaughters, Nicole Leisinger-Reed of Los Angeles, CA; Janet Leisinger of Los Angeles, CA; Alexis Putman of Fairfax, VA; and Olivia Putman of Fairfax, VA, and her League Family. The Grodin Family would like to thank the following organizations for their love and overwhelming support: -Home Healthcare, HOSPICE, and community services (Nancy Folsom, Genvieve Drevet) -Caring Hands, Home Nursing Care -Jaffrey-Rindge Memorial Ambulance -League of New Hampshire Craftsmen -Jaffrey Chamber of Commerce

In lieu of flowers, we request donations be made in Edith’s name to the League of NH Craftsmen (www.nhcrafts.org or 49 South Main Street, Suite 100, Concord, NH 03301) or to the Jaffrey-Rindge Memorial Ambulance Fund (P.O. Box 107, Jaffrey, NH 03452), both are non-profit organizations.

In accordance with her wishes, there will be no memorial service or funeral. Her family will hold a Public Celebration of Her Life at a later date.