Edith Rowley Granrud

1901-1988

Bio

Born: Edith Rowley on 23 July 1901 in Los Angeles

Parents: Warren Rowley & Olive Sanborn Rowley

Sister: Margaret Rowley

Married: 11 Dec 1925 to Harold Granrud

Children: Nancy Granrud & Karen Granrud

Grandchildren: Tracy Monson Wilke & Terry Monson Diaz

Addresses:

1624 Wayne Ave, South Pasadena1377 Oxford Rd, San Marino914 Fairview #5, Arcadia1310 Daveric Dr, Pasadena
Schools: South Pasadena High School

Died: 10 January 1988 at age 86 of Alzheimer's

Buried at Rose Hills, Whittier - Gate 1, Section 1, Lot 714, Grave 2

Gallery

Family Memories

Niece Judy remembers ...

My Aunt Edith was a classy woman. She dressed impeccably, quality was important in the way she maintained her home, and she assumed leadership roles in her community and local organizations. She attended church regularly and belonged to Eastern Star, the woman's organization associated with the Masonic Fraternal Order. She had such a difficult pregnancy and birth with Nancy that she and Harold decided to adopt the second child they wanted. Because Granrud is a Norwegian name, Karen was selected because of her Norwegian parentage. My first memory of Edith is of her with totally white hair. probably by the time she was 40.
Edith was eight years older than my mother, but in their adult years they were very close, They shared responsibility for my grandmother Olive Rowley, taking two-week turns having Grandma live with them. That meant getting Grandma back and forth from west Los Angeles to San Marino. I also stayed with Aunt Edith occasionally, once for a week when my parents vacationed. My parents and the Granruds always spent Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc., together. Edith always did a stellar job orchestrating such events.
At some point Edith realized that Harold, an insurance agent, was digging into client payments for his own purposes, which was illegal. She went to work in his office managing his books, doing her best to conceal illegalities. Whenever she found that Harold had "borrowed" client money, she took an equal amount and invested it. In the long run she saved the money that mainly got them through their retirement years. During that time my parents, Elwood and Ada, and Edith and Harold took a trip to Japan. Harold didn't have enough money to pay, so Edith financed their share of the trip.
Edith was very interested in family history. She established that members of the Rowley family had fought in the Revolutionary War which allowed her to become a member of the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution), an organization whose members can trace their families back to Revolutionary War participation. She traced her mother's side of the family back to its relationship to the Donners of the famous Donner Party.
After Dad and Harold passed, Mom and Edith did things together. At one point they planned a trip to Ireland, but Edith went through a surgery, I think for a hernia, and was sedated for about 14 hours. Her brain did not recover. Mom realized this when Edith had no memory about the planned trip to Ireland. Edith later became bed-ridden and unable to function on her own.

Nephew Bob Kerr remembers ...

Aunt Edith was the quintessential "Little Old Lady from Pasadena." His mother, Margaret, and Edith laughed a lot whenever they got together. One reason he enjoyed visits to Edith's house on Oxford Street in San Marino was the neighbor's vehicle turntable at the top of the driveway, which he and Judy used to sneak onto for a ride. He also remembers that Edith sold vacant lots on Balboa Island in her younger years -- back when she could ride the Red Car from Los Angeles to Newport Beach for 5 cents.

Granddaughter Tracy remembers ...

'Nana G' was the person who made Christmas morning special with her gifts and goodies. Edith used to help chauffeur her granddaughters whenever daughter Nancy was working: "One time she picked me up after high school to take me home and no one thought to check if a string bass would fit in her Buick sedan. Amazingly, since her steering wheel tilted down and the seats flattened I was able to wrangle it into her car. Looking back, I still don't know how we got it in the side doors!"

Granddaughter Terry remembers ...

Edith was the only person who could persuade me to drink milk as a child -- by putting sugar in it! Edith loved to nibble on treats all the time, but ate like a bird. She was very feminine and gentle. I was such a tomboy, I was always afraid I would hurt her unexpectedly. One day as she was driving us home from Tracy's dentist appointment, I told her I was going to purchase and ride a motorcycle. She flat out stated, 'Young ladies don't ride motorcycles, men do.' I just smiled and said, 'This one is.' She would probably never understand why I kept my name Monson after marrying. I admire my mother for moving Nana into my childhood room and caring for her like a queen during the last year of her life.

Great Niece Marcelle remembers ...

Aunt Edith had a shaky eye. Also, when Alzheimer's started to take hold, Edith was found eight miles from home in a Wendy's restaurant asking for a glass of water. I remember my Grandma sitting in her living room chair and just being so sad about what was happening to her sister.