Barbara Dean Gueinzius Gridley died peacefully on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, nine days shy of her 94^th birthday, in her beloved Norfolk, Conn. home under the loving care of her two children, extended family members, her beloved knitting group, friends of all ages, caregivers and hospice nurses of the Visiting Nurse & Hospice of Litchfield County. 

Barbara was born Feb. 23, 1930, in Green Bay, Wisc., the daughter of Phyllis Reeke Gueinzius and John Bernard Gueinzius. She was called Barbara Dean. Her sibling, John Bernard Gueinzius, Jr., and her husband of 60 years, William G. Gridley, Jr., predeceased her. Her two children, Katharine Mead Gridley (John Barstow); and William Winslow Gridley (Mary Heller Gridley); four grandchildren, Rebecca, Charles, Angus and Nell; two great grandchildren, numerous nieces, nephews and cousins survive her.

Barbara attended public schools in Green Bay, and then went to Connecticut College, where she earned her B.A. in Anthropology. She later earned a M.A. in Education from Bank Street College. Upon graduating college, Barbara moved to New York City, where she worked as a copywriter at the advertising firm Ogilvy & Mather, where her main account was the hip and modern Helena Rubenstein.

A proud Wisconsinite and avid Green Bay Packers fan, she nonetheless never returned to live in the Upper Midwest. In 1950, she went on a blind date with a boy from Yale, Bill Gridley. They fell madly in love and were married on Sept. 4, 1954 in Green Bay. Barbara and Bill lived in New York City in the same Upper East Side neighborhood where Bill grew up. They soon had children: Kate in 1956, and Billy in 1958.

Barbara’s first love was Bill, and her family, on whom she regularly bragged. Then, close behind came learning and teaching. Starting in 1968, she made a 38-year career at the St. Bernard’s School, where she founded the audio-visual program before broadening her scope to become a beloved special subjects and reading teacher. Generations of boys from St. B’s all remember their first research paper on their favorite animal. She was a veritable pioneer and role model for women who sought strong careers and healthy families.

Family and friends described Barbara as “the first to volunteer,” “vividly alive,” a “spark plug,” a fast driver, a life-long learner, an avid reader, and a warm welcoming presence. Throughout Barbara’s long and lively life, a fierce curiosity inspired her to adventure and action, inspiring her to travel the world, and manifesting in her teaching style, where she unconsciously modeled her passion for learning and difference by opening new worlds to her students between the four walls of the classroom. To say that generally she held strong and progressive views was true.

Her volunteer activities included: the Yorkville Youth Council, the Gateway School, and Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City; the Norfolk Historical Society, the Foundation for Norfolk Living, and the Battell Arts Foundation in Norfolk. She was a member of the Cosmopolitan Club in New York, and the Norfolk Country Club and the Doolittle Club in Norfolk. Barbara and Bill were ardent supporters of the Ellen Battell Stoeckel Estate, the Yale Summer School of Music and Art and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.

A memorial service will be held June 22 at 11 a.m. at the Church of Christ Congregational, Norfolk, CT.

Memorial donations in her name may be made to Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc., New York, N.Y., or to the Foundation for Norfolk Living.