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Grace Siler |
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December, 1922 ~
March 4, 2017 |
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March 13, 2017 |
Grace Siler passed away peacefully on March 4,
2017, at Hospice House of Spokane, at age 94.
The cause was heart failure. An informal
memorial gathering of friends and family will be
held at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 21, at the Pearl
Theater, 7160 Ash Street, Bonners Ferry.
The hours are scheduled to be from 2 until 4
p.m., but we will stay as long as is
appropriate. The event will be a "light
refreshment" pot luck. Coffee and tea will be
provided, and we will be serving Junior's Cheese
Cake from Brooklyn, New York, one of Grace's
favorites. Feel free to bring a little something
or not, as the mood takes you. Everyone is
invited to share their memories of Grace. This
is not to be a solemn occasion, as Grace would
have absolutely hated that.
If you have wishes you would like to share, or
you have any question or comments, you can email
them to
j.siler@jimsiler.com. Since Grace had so
many friends that we have not had the good
fortune to meet, if you know of anyone who would
like to be there, please pass on the invitation.
The family would like to thank Hospice of
Spokane and Dr. Paula Dygert for their
compassionate care of Grace.
Grace was a Bonners Ferry resident from 1988
until 2014, when she moved to Spokane to be
nearer to family.
Grace was born in New York City in December,
1922, to immigrant parents Minnie and David
Fishman. The Fishman marriage was not
successful, and Minnie raised Grace and her
sister with the help of extended family. After
graduating high school, Grace held various
office and factory jobs. During World War II she
worked as a machinist.
Grace married William Siler in 1946, and they
had two sons. The young family lived in various
places in New York and spent two years in
Birmingham, Alabama, in the mid-1950s. When the
marriage ended, Grace raised her sons in Queens.
After they were grown, she went to night school
and earned a B.A. in anthropology, magna cum
laude, from Queens College in 1979. She retired
as a secretary from the American Paper Institute
in Manhattan in 1987.
Throughout her life, Grace was an advocate for
human rights. As a young woman, she was a union
organizer in the light bulb factory where she
worked and also helped engineer the employment
of the first black light bulb assembler there.
Grace was a firm believer in desegregation and
did not just talk about it. She and her white
friends would interview as prospective tenants
in what were then all-white buildings, get
approved, and then have black families move in
instead. As a young mother, Grace noticed that
all the Cub Scout troops in her area were
racially segregated. She became a den mother and
went against scout policy to form an integrated
den.
Later in life, Grace actively supported
environmental causes, education, and civil
rights.
Grace greatly enjoyed her retirement years in
Bonners Ferry and was an avid gardener and
photographer. She was a member of the Human
Rights Task Force for many years. She always
wanted what was best for the community and
worked tirelessly to improve education in
Boundary County. She was a popular reading buddy
at Valley View Elementary School, and pushed
hard for school bonds and levies. She was
recognized as the BCEA Friend of Education for
2005-2006.
Grace is survived by two sons, James Siler of
Connecticut and William Siler of Spokane, and
grandchildren Andrew, Daniel, Eleanor and
Philip, as well as a great-grandson. Grace was
predeceased by her sister, Joy Fishman, also a
longtime resident of Bonners Ferry. Grace was a
beloved matriarch who was absolutely loyal to
family and friends and inspired great loyalty in
return. She lived fearlessly, with humor and
wisdom, and will be greatly missed. |
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