Sally Ann Gram

Sally Ann Gram
Date Of Birth: 05/05/1932
Date of Death: 06/04/2024
Sally Ann Gram, an Oregonian from birth, passed away peacefully the morning of Tuesday June 4, 2024 at home. In her last days as she transitioned to be with her husband John, she was surrounded by her 6 children and their spouses.
Sally was born in Portland Oregon May 5, 1932 to Elsie Lita Kauffman Ferguson and Thomas Eugene Ferguson. Sally and her sister Shyrene were mostly raised by their mother who was a nurse. Sally attended Holy Child grade and high school, boarding there during part of World War II. After graduating from Holy Child, Sally attended Dominican College in San Rafael, California for several year before returning to Portland. In 1953 she met John Gram in Gearhart Oregon and they married in 1954. She was given away in marriage by her step father, Dr. Joseph Milton Murphy.
Early in their marriage they lived in Portland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles and by the time they moved back to Portland in 1965 they had 6 children; Paul 1955, Molly 1957, Mark 1958, Peter 1959, Amy 1960 and Chresten (Chris) 1964. Yes 6 children in 9 years!
While John was building a career, Sally was very busy taking care of their children and their home. John and Sally believed strongly in Catholic Grade School education and they were prolific volunteers, always willing to go the extra mile for their children and their schools. All six of their children graduated from Cathedral School, where Sally and John were particularly active.
As her children grew into young adults, Sally's community efforts expanded and in the late 1970's and early 1980's she was a committed volunteer to the Portland Art Museum's Rental Sales Gallery and Albertina Kerr. She was also a leader in the Portland Women's Union which owned and operated a 170 room boarding house providing safe housing for young women. The building was later sold to the Rajneesh's.
Sally was outgoing and gregarious, enjoyed dancing and always had a sparkle in her eye. She took up tennis in the mid-1970s and regularly played ladies' doubles at the Multnomah Athletic Club with her women tennis friends. She could be very stubborn usually for good reason and a was a very good judge of character. She had a wide close knit group of very good friends and she enjoyed playing bridge and sewing with them. Through the years she became an accomplished cook preparing countless gourmet meals for her family and their dinner guests.
Like John, she was active in politics and met many national politicians including Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr. They proudly worked on all three of Reagan's campaigns and were thrilled to attend Reagan's first inauguration. When President Reagan stopped in Portland during his re-election campaign, she ran the operations at the Benson Hotel where Reagan stayed and spoke.
Her favorite political personality was William F Buckley who founded the National Review magazine and had a weekly television show Firing Line. After Buckley spoke at a large Republican fundraiser in Forest Grove that Sally attended and upon the urging from Sally's son, Buckley visited her table and conversed with her on the issues of the day for several minutes.
Sally's legacy will always be her family; Paul and Carlin Gram, Molly and Norm Mannheimer, Mark and Anne Gram, Peter and Kirsten Gram, Amy and Brian Leahy, Chris and Barbara Gram, 17 grandchildren and at this writing 21 great grandchildren.