Stephen L Griswold

Portland - Stephen Lewis Griswold, 64, died peacefully on Sunday, February 10, 2013, surrounded by members of his family and close friends.

Stephen was welcomed to the world on May 5, 1948, in Torrington, Connecticut by proud parents Dorothy Adelaide and Lewis Leslie Griswold, and by his loving big sister, Rosanne. In 1952 his younger brother Lee Franklin was born. Stephen relished his memories of growing up in the 1950s, and particularly their annual visits to Torrington’s “Christmas Village” which inspired his lifelong love of Christmas and the spirit of joyous giving that he demonstrated throughout his life.

Another seminal part of his early life was his family’s discovery in 1955 of Goose Rocks Beach in Kennebunkport, Maine, which they visited every summer and where in 1959 they purchased the cottage that has been the site of many family gatherings for fifty-four years.

Stephen attended Litchfield High School where he was a center (#55) on the high school basketball team and where he discovered his love for American History. These two pursuits, together with his lifelong love of Maine, led him to Bates College in Lewiston. There he majored in History and played basketball, and in his junior year he married his high school sweetheart, Susan Funderburk, with whom he had two children, daughter Laurie and son Matthew.

After graduation from Bates, Stephen was hired as Housing Coordinator for the newly formed Maine Model Cities Program in Lewiston. There he found his professional passion for real estate development. While Housing Coordinator at Model Cities, he helped form the Alliance for Better Housing, a non-profit corporation that developed numerous housing projects for low-income families and the elderly. In the late 1970’s, he formed Shelter Group, Inc., with partner Terry Nadeau. Stephen was a visionary developer, particularly in his ability to envision and finance complex projects. He created the first Maine private syndication of limited partnership interests in the mid-1970’s, and led Shelter Group’s expansion into a multi-disciplinary development practice, from building rehabilitation to nursing homes and health care, mixed use office, educational, residential, and hospitality projects.

With his partners he developed, owned, and operated the Sheraton Harborside Hotel in Portsmouth, New Hampshire; the Hilton Garden Inn in Auburn, Maine, and the Hampton Inn and Suites in Exeter, New Hampshire. The Sheraton Harborside Hotel was one of the first “condotels,” the combination of hotel and condominium units, in the country. In 1999, the Sheraton was awarded “Best Franchised Property Worldwide” by Starwood Hotels and Resorts. One of his early developments, the Gateway Building in Lewiston, converted a roofless burned-out building into 27 elderly apartments and 15,000 square feet of retail and office space that now anchors one of the most prominent street corners in the city. Throughout his real estate career, Stephen demonstrated creativity, ingenuity, and perseverance. He had a gift for communicating his vision and his enthusiasm to others, and was always willing to take the time to explain the nuances of a project as well as to involve others in bringing it to fruition. He was an active participant in civic life, serving on numerous non-profit boards, including a term as president of the Maine Development Foundation.

He was a lifelong lover of cars, from the ’76 Corvette in which he and his brother took a whirlwind 15-day tour of the United States to the 1932 Deuce Coupe he lovingly restored, and including the NASCAR team that he and his wife owned with his friend Brad Leighton as its driver. He loved to travel to favorite spots in Bermuda and Florida, to his camp in Denmark, Maine, and to the family cottage at Goose Rocks Beach. He was an avid sports fan, attending as many New England Patriots games as he could, and enjoying his role as one of the owners of the Maine Red Claws basketball team.

Although Stephen committed much of his time to his work and his hobbies, his greatest passion was for his family and friends. In addition to his children Laurie and Matthew, with his second marriage to Margaret Ellen Smith he became the stepfather to Chris Thompson and Martha Bryon. Stephen and Margaret’s family grew to include thirteen grandchildren: Laurie and Micah Craft’s children Elora, Salem, Bella, Emma, Loren, and Carter; Matthew Griswold and Charndra Michaud’s son Adler; Martha Bryon’s children Amy, Forrest, Waits, and Phoebe; and Chris and Erica Thompson’s children Blythe and Quinn.

He viewed his role as grandfather to be his greatest achievement, and felt most fulfilled and at peace when his home was full of his children and grandchildren.

Stephen will be greatly missed by many, and most of all by his loving wife and partner of 27 years, Margaret.

A celebration of his life will be held this summer.

In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to “Dr. Edwin Alyea’s research in honor of Mr. Griswold” and sent to:

Dr. Edwin Alyea

Division of Hematologic Malignancies

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

450 Brookline Avenue, D1B30

Boston, MA 02215