Alexandra Diepenbrock Grady

Alexandra, known as Sandy, was the second daughter of Alexander and Kathryn Diepenbrock. She was born in Bakersfield and raised in South Pasadena, CA. She graduated from South Pasadena High School in 1950. The mid-century date always remained special, and she always returned to school reunions to see her friends. Special memories from those days were beach parties, Rose Bowl events, and her interest in football due to the state championships by her high school team. On Jan 1, 1950, Sandy rode on the South Pasadena Rose Parade float on New Year’s Day which was designed to honor this special championship.

When Sandy was in elementary school, her father Al served in WWII as a Lieutenant Commander in the US Navy and Kathryn and their two daughters were very proud of his service. Kathryn was busy with the Red Cross, Victory Gardens, paper drives, writing letters overseas, and hoping for the end of war. There was rationing on gas, food, and even shoes. There were blackout curtains to close every night. Sandy and her family accepted this as part of the war efforts.

Sandy graduated from the University of California in 1954 with a B.A. and a teaching certificate. The Kappa Kappa Gamma house was her home for those happy years, and she kept many of those college friends all her life. Her interests were expanded by the interesting classes, and the knowledge they provided.

She met her husband John (Jack) Grady in the spring of 1956 in San Francisco, and they were married at 3 pm on December 29th of the same year at Holy Family Catholic Church in South Pasadena, followed by a reception at the famed Huntington Hotel. It was all the best for them that day. They were both 3rd generation Californians and graduates of Berkeley. It was a fast and lasting love affair through all their 30 years of marriage. Jack passed away in May 1987 from Pancreatic cancer.

They had moved east in 1960 as Jack was transferred by The IBM Company from Sacramento to White Plains, New York. The family moved to Greenwich, CT where they raised four children and lived an interesting life there for 40 years, as well as spending vacations and holidays at a ski house in Ludlow, Vermont. They started their family travels early. A month long stay in Switzerland in the summer of 1970, followed in a few years by a July stay in a house in Highgate England, with daily trips to London and more. Another adventure was a house exchange in 1975 when half of the family traveled by Amtrak to Reno and on to Lake Tahoe for a stay in a great house in Dollar Pointe. The girls flew a few days later.

Jack soon worked for IBM at its new corporate headquarters in nearby Armonk, NY. He retired in 1986 as Vice President and Secretary of the company. His job allowed them to travel the world as he planned the company’s overseas board meetings and more. Sandy’s travels continued for another 30 years afterwards with trips involving cruises, river trips and Elderhostel trips which consisted of walking miles in Britain, and Italy and France on multiple occasions.

Also, over the years, her volunteer work included several years as a Girl Scout leader, a school volunteer, and PTA work which was followed by President of the Greenwich PTA council. Sandy was a member of the Junior League in both Greenwich and Naples when she retired. Before retirement, Sandy worked as a second-grade teacher in California and at Greenwich High School as a teacher’s aide in the late 70’s. In the early 1980s, she started up an antique business working in Darien, CT for 15 years with newfound friends. This hobby, now business, came from the many years she spent shopping resale and antique shops, decorating the family’s 28-room Victorian mansion: once the home of the Prescott Bush family. The shop years were all fun, filled with travel looking for treasures to sell. During these widowed working years, she owned two different houses and a condo in Rowayton and New York City. In 2002, she moved to Naples, Florida, where she lived first in a condo and then a house in Pelican Bay for 10 years. Sandy’s final home, since 2013, has been the Arbor Trace community with views of the Gulf, good food, and friendly residents. She kept many friends from her life of 26 years in California, 43 in Connecticut, and 26 in Florida.

While living in Pelican Bay, she was elected President of the PB Widows group and planned activities for the large membership, making many new friends. At the same time, in 2011-12, her turn came up to be the next President of the KKG alumni association in Collier Country - these were busy days! She also attended a regional KKG convention in Atlanta and was caught in a late spring snowstorm and was lucky to find a room for the night, as well as finding another plane reservation home by herself.

Her many dogs and cats were also a special part of her life, even in Naples with Rusty and Danny who came back and forth from CT to Florida by car. There should have been a story written about these Bronx father and son mutts, rescued from a fire and living the Life of Riley in Naples. Her family remembers the earlier years of 12 puppies born on Christmas Eve and Snow Puff and her unexpected families.

Sandy leaves behind her 4 children: Kathleen Skelly (Tom), John Grady (Athena), Carolyn Grady (Mary), Jim Grady (Ilana), 12 grandchildren, (7 granddaughters, 3 grandsons, 2 step granddaughters). Additionally, she leaves behind her nieces and nephews Christina Lowman, Pam Schreiner, Monica Incerti, Lynne Gangi, Dick and Tom Douglass as well as several of her 28 cousins in California and their children including Mary Ternan and Patrick Nally.

Sandy was preceded by her parents Al and Katie Diepenbrock, beloved husband Jack, and sister Carolyn Lowman.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift to one of the following charities which Sandy supported:

• The Arbor Trace Foundation Inc: 1000 Arbor Lake Drive, Naples, FL 34110

• Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation: 6640 Riverside Drive, Suite 200, Dublin, OH 43017

• Junior League of Greenwich CT: 231 E. Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, CT 06830

A Catholic Funeral Mass will be held for Alexandra D. Grady at 10:00 AM on Monday Oct 6th at St. Mary’s Church 178 Greenwich Ave, Greenwich CT with a private burial to follow at the Putnam Cemetery of Greenwich next to Alexandra’s deceased husband, John H. Grady.