Grace Clark Grado

Grace Grado, 87, died in Columbia, MO on October 7th, 2023.  A life-long Missouri resident, she is survived by her daughter Dana Wahrenbrock (Richard Letchinger) and son Mark Wahrenbrock (Nancy) and her adored grandchildren Hannah and Daniel Letchinger and Clark Wahrenbrock.  Grace was preceeded in death by her husband Bernard F. Grado and was a cherished friend with her first husband Raymond L. Wahrenbrock. Throughout her life, Grace was a fierce social justice advocate beginning with the Fair Housing Campaign in 1965 in the greater Kansas City area.  She served in many social service roles including her final career position as the Executive Director of Fairmount Community Center and Foundation of Independence, MO and a job developer at Human Resources Corporation.  She was a self taught gardener and surrounded herself with flowers and growing things. Her belief in the healing properties of gardening led her to create and direct a greenhouse program for adults with disabilities as part of the Wyandotte County Sheltered Workshop program. The vegetables and other plants they grew were sold to local restaurants. She also felt a deep love/passion for Native American culture and traditions and spent as much time as she could immersed in learning everything she could through books, research and frequent trips to the Southwest. Her appreciation for the traditional beliefs around nature and our relationship to the earth guided her commitment to seeking ways to walk easy in the world.  She was a lover of nature and animals and had a variety of pets over the years including a pig, a rabbit and at least 10 dogs and cats.   Donations can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or the local animal shelter of your choice.