Louise Mattimore Grant

Louise Mattimore Grant, a lifelong adventurer and friend to many, died peacefully on Saturday, August 21, 2021. A mother of four and grandmother of seven, she lived a long and happy life marked by an ability to overcome adversity with unrelenting optimism. She was 81.

Louise was born on September 27, 1939 in Brooklyn, New York to James S. Mattimore III and Genevieve “Babe” Cornell Mattimore, and grew up on Coney Island, New York. Living on the top floor of a bathhouse with her sister Jean and brother Jim, she became an aficionado of the original Nathan’s hot dogs and enjoyed them for many decades afterward. As a young child, she moved to Bay Shore, New York on Long Island and attended St. Patrick’s Catholic School and then Bay Shore High School, where she was a member of the dance team.

It was during a high school dance on St. Patrick’s Day that Louise met her future husband, John Grant, who was a student at nearby Seton Hall High School. While John attended Boston College, Louise worked at a Long Island high school as a receptionist. After his college graduation, the two married in November of 1962, and by fall of 1963, they moved to Washington, D.C. so that John could attend Georgetown Law School. Their first child was born that same fall, and soon Louise had given birth to four children in four years, with twins in the middle.

Over the years, while raising the children, Louise worked as an administrative assistant for various members of Congress and business leaders, and for her husband’s solo law practice in Georgetown. These were difficult but joyful years juggling a career and family, but she loved every minute of it. Louise was an active member of the St. Thomas More PTA, served as a room mother many times, and was a genius at the logistics of getting four children and a husband to work, sports practices, recitals and sleepovers with only one car. She and John eventually traveled to Italy, Ireland, and Switzerland on the trip of a lifetime together.

After her husband’s untimely death from cancer in the mid-1980s, Louise worked for 30 years at the National Cooperative Bank, rising to the position of meeting planner and corporate secretary to the board of directors. It was while she was working at the bank that Louise was able to continue traveling, going to such far-flung places as Alaska, Hawaii, Istanbul, Tahiti, most of Western Europe, and the Alps. She para-sailed, snorkeled, flew on zip lines, rode motorized scooters, waterskied, kayaked, climbed mountains, rode white-water rafts, floated on hot air balloon rides, and drove snowmobiles. If there was an adventure to take, she took it.

Despite losing her husband as a young widow, Louise was one of the most optimistic people one could ever meet. She worked hard and played hard. She loved a good story and had a terrific sense of humor. Her fierce independence and sunny outlook were an inspiration to her family and friends.

Louise is survived by her children and their spouses Mary Kate Cary and Rob Cary; Susan Connors; Carolyn Grant and Ron Zarrella; and Jan Grant. She is preceded in death by her son John F. Grant, Jr. as well as her sister, Jean Giedris and brother, James Mattimore IV. She is greatly missed by her loving grandchildren Alyson Groff, Annie Cary, Gracie Cary, Jack Grant, Kate Connors, Emily Grant, and Will Connors; by dozens of her first and second cousins in the Mattimore family; by her many nieces and nephews; and by her countless friends from the National Cooperative Bank, the Westchester apartments, and Fox Hill residence.

Visitation will be held at Gawler’s Funeral Home at 5130 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Washington D.C. from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, August 26th. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at Epiphany Catholic Church, 2712 Dumbarton Street, N.W. at 9 a.m. ET on Friday, August 27th, with a private burial to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Sibley Memorial Hospital, Casey House, and JDRF.