Grace Sproul

Sproul, Grace
Grace Sproul, a resident of the Highlands in Topsham, Maine, died peacefully on Saturday, November 29, 2014. She was born on March 7, 1915 in Croton Falls, NY and attended North Salem Central High School in North Salem, NY. Following high school she attended United Hospital School of Nursing in Port Chester, NY, but a twist of fate sent her to New York City where she finished her nursing studies at Bellevue School of Nursing. This is where she met her future husband, Vincent Rogers Sproul. She was a Registered Nurse and worked at with him at Bellevue before they moved to Caribou, Me and married there in 1940. She and Vincent lived in St Joseph, Mo, Detroit, Michigan, Keyport, NJ, Croton Falls, NY, Pawling NY, Easton and Fairfield, Ct, New London, NH and Topsham, Me.
Grace was the mother of five children and always said her purpose in life was to be a mother. She was a Girl Scout leader, room mother, and a long time Red Cross volunteer, working for the blood bank with her husband. In later years, she cooked and served at Operation Hope, a food kitchen for the homeless, in Fairfield, Ct, for which she was honored. After raising her children, she was a private duty baby nurse and had always helped her own children when their babies were born.
Grace had a magical green thumb and loved nature. She created a compost pile before composting was popular. She was an early appreciator of the need to be a steward of the environment, and she could be seen picking up trash on her daily walks in Fairfield. A softball player in High School, Grace was a lifelong avid baseball fan, first for the Brooklyn Dodgers, then the NY Mets and finally the Boston Red Sox. She could quote stats and knew every player on those teams as if they were her personal friends!
She was affectionately known as "Amazing Grace", later "Princess Grace" and finally "Queen Grace", by the many beloved caregivers and staff at the Governor King Community at the Highlands, where she lived for her final 6 years, surrounded by love and care. Her imagination and great humor defined her later years there. She practiced positive thinking and gratitude always, and she appreciated her wonderful life to the very end and never failed to express that to everyone.
Grace is survived by her five children, Bonnie Flierl and her husband Howard, of Port Charlotte, Fla, Arden Leonetti and her husband Pat, of Carmel, NY, Alden Sproul and his wife Susan of Bristol, Me, Shelley Ide of Topsham, Me, Jennifer Sproul and her husband Dr Raymond Fuentes of Gaithersburg, Md and her beloved niece, Patricia Schories and her husband Harry Bolick, of Hopewell Junction, NY. 19 grandchildren and many great grandchildren who knew her as "Nini".
A memorial service will be held in the spring at The Highlands in Topsham, ME. To share memories and condolences with the family, please go to www.athutchins.com