Wendy Griffin

1939 - 2022

Wendy Griffin
March 12, 2022
Lakewood, Washington - Wendy Sterling Griffin passed away Saturday, March 12th, 2022 at home in Lakewood, Washington. She was born to Dorothy Paine Sterling and Walter Hubbard Sterling on March 25th, 1939 in Phoenix, Arizona. Wendy attended Brownmoor School in Scottsdale, Arizona and Mills College in Oakland, California where she participated in several musical productions, sparking a lifelong passion for the arts.
Wendy married James Griffin in 1959, and moved to the Pacific Northwest where she promptly had four children and became involved in her new community. In those early days she was a board member of the Junior League, volunteered at Pacific Lutheran University KPEC Public Television station, established a residency for the Joffrey Ballet at Pacific Lutheran University, and helped organize a children's museum for the Tacoma Art Museum.
During the mid 1970s through 1980s Wendy was a fundraiser and performer for Tacoma's BASH (Building a Scholastic Heritage) events, which led to modeling work for Nordstrom's. She also volunteered for both the Tacoma Philharmonic and Tacoma Actors Guild, serving on their boards and executive committees, and was appointed to the Tacoma Cultural Council.
In the midst of raising her family, Wendy became devoted to the ballet. She was a founding member of the Pacific Northwest Ballet in 1972, where she served for over 30 years. She helped produce a new full length ballet, the national release of a feature length movie, a triumphant Kennedy Center debut, and the successful matching of a National Endowment of the Arts Challenge Grant.
Wendy's fundraising and leadership skills became renowned in the Northwest. In1988 she was appointed to the Washington State Arts Commission, and in1990 she became chairman. In 1992 she participated in the American Leadership Forum and was selected for Leadership America, a national program of the Foundation for Women's Resources. The same year, Wendy served on the board of the YMCA, and was a member of the Steering Committee to incorporate the City of Lakewood. In 1994 she joined the board of the Greater Lakes Mental Health Center, becoming vice chairman in 1998, and chairman in 1999.
In 1994, Wendy was appointed to the Governor's Mansion Foundation, and in 1996 she served as the foundation's Tacoma/Pierce County chairman, becoming president from 1996-98. She also helped found Forward Together in 1996, a program for the quality of life in Tacoma and Pierce County to be sustained, improved, and expanded.
Art was another of Wendy's great passions. In 1998 she joined the board of the Tacoma Art Museum, serving as president and chairman of the board from 1993-1997. From 1999-2003 Wendy co-chaired the capital campaign for the new museum with her husband, James Griffin.
Although Wendy found ultimate joy in spending time with her burgeoning family and traveling the world with her husband, she cared deeply about helping others, and her volunteering continued. From 2005-08 she worked on the $10 million Hope Center, a partnership between Clover Park School District and the Boys and Girls Club of South Puget Sound.
Her awards were numerous. Wendy received the Evergreen State Society Award in 1991, the Tacoma Arts Commission's Excellence in the Arts Award in 1992, the Junior League Sustainer of the Year Award in 1993, and the Tacoma Art Museum's Murray Medal in 1994.
Wendy is survived by her three sons, Scott (Alicia), Sterling (Katrina), Whitney (Gretchen), daughter Ashley, fourteen grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. The interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to be made to Greater Lakes Mental Healthcare or the Tacoma Art Museum.