Alice Griswold

Alice Griswold Alice Griswold, age 97, passed away peacefully in her home Thursday, October 30, 2008. Alice was born July 5, 1911 to Helen and Arthur Van Aken in Coldwater, MI. She was the third of five children and is survived by her sisters Greta Anderson and Myrtle Finison. Alice married Howard R. Griswold (deceased 1988) in 1934 at Ypsilanti, MI. They had two sons, George H. Griswold (Judy) of Milan, MI and James C. Griswold (deceased 1997). She is survived by two grandchildren, Donald S. Griswold (Kristie) of Ottawa Lake, MI and Julie A Raus of Manchester, MI. She is also survived by one Great-Grandchild, Wyatt L. Griswold. Alice Van Aken was born July 5, 1911 in Coldwater, Michigan. She graduated from Ypsilanti Normal College (Eastern Michigan University) with a degree in Home Economics, with emphasis on textiles. She met and married Howard Griswold in 1923. During the 1930s Alice worked for food relief organizations and the WPA, before joining Howard in managing food services for the State of Michigan Department of Health. Alice began her weaving career in 1951, a self-taught weaver. A dressmaker at that time, her motivation for learning to weave was to produce unique and quality fabric yardage. After retirement, Howard joined Alice in a weaving partnership. Weaving on power looms in their home, the Griswolds produced short runs of fabric for interior designers, blankets, throws, scarves and table linens for corporate clients and for local markets. Their curtains hung in the World Trade Center. They also produced reproduction textiles for the Smithsonian Institute and museums in St. Ignace and Ft. Mackinac. Shows and exhibits featuring Griswold textiles included: a 1957 Smithsonian Institution Midwestern designer-craftsman show, "Draperies for Art Tour" in 1966, juried shows at the Detroit Institute of Art, the Kresge Art Museum of Michigan State University, the St. Paul Gallery and School of Art, the Kansas City Art Institute, and a retrospective exhibit at Midland Center for the Arts. Alice published a book, "Weaving Solutions", in 2000. She was a member in many area and national weaving guilds, including the League of Michigan Handweavers, the Greater Lansing Weavers guild, the Weavers Guild of Michigan, and Cross Country Weavers, an invitational and international weaving group. She devoted her later years to teaching at weaving conferences throughout the country, mentored individual weavers and offered consultations to weavers in textile mills. Even into her 90s she continued to take weaving classes, and traveled within the Midwest, New York, and Massachusetts, attending weaving conferences. As she would frequently state, "I need three more lifetimes to learn everything about weaving." Alice loved books, traveling to upstate New York along the St. Lawrence, viewing rock faces with their fascinating textures, chocolate, potluck lunches brought to her by her weaving students, and designing warps of mixed yarns and textures. Her list of friends grew along with her age, but she always made time to keep in contact with them no matter how far away. Alice leaves behind a legacy of learning and shared passion for weaving. She will be dearly missed by those she touched. Family will receive friends at the Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes, 1730 E. Grand River Avenue, East Lansing, between 2 and 6 p.m. on Sunday, November 2nd. A graveside service will be held at United Memorial Gardens, 4800 Curtis Road, Plymouth, MI, Tuesday, November 4, 2008, 11:00 a.m. Memorial contributions can be made to the MSU Museum Alice Griswold Weaving History Fund at MSU Museum, West Circle Drive, East Lansing, MI 48824.