Des Plaines loses a part of its history with death of longtime resident

Dorothy Grice never held public office in Des Plaines, but she was something of a first lady for the city.

As the granddaughter of some of Des Plaines' earliest settlers, her roots in the area predated the Civil War.

And she was the longest-serving member of the First Congregational Church of Des Plaines, was among the first graduates of Maine Township High School, and attended the groundbreaking for what is now called Advocate Lutheran General Hospital before becoming one of its first volunteers.

Grice died Tuesday in her Des Plaines home where she had lived her entire life. She was 95.

“She was thoroughly happy and content in Des Plaines,” says her son, the Rev. William Grice, who was the former 28-year pastor of the First Congregational Church of Des Plaines.

“This is where her roots were.”

Grice's maternal grandfather, Wilhelm Meyer, and his brothers drove supplies in wagons during the Civil War. Her father's family also left its mark on the community. Her paternal grandmother, Phillipine Ahbe, was a midwife in the area, who delivered more than 1,000 babies around the turn of the century.

Nancy Meyer, the church historian at First Congregational Church of Des Plaines and a member of the Des Plaines Historical Society, says Grice was one of her trusted resources.

“There are very few people left that go that far back,” Meyer said.

Grice was a member of the first graduating class at Maine Township High School to attend all four years at the school, now called Maine East High School.

In her younger years, she rode horses on the many bridle paths around the city before taking up bicycle riding. Grice also played championship tennis and often found her best competition against men, her son says.

She met her husband, William, through a bicycle club, and their marriage lasted 70 years before her passing.

The couple enjoyed volunteering together at Lutheran General in Park Ridge, doing everything from delivering mail and serving refreshments to patients to gathering patient intake information during the early years.

Their most recent role was visiting with families in the emergency room, which their son says they enjoyed the most.

Magda Scanlan, manager of volunteer services, describes Grice as a charter member volunteer, and she adds that Grice donated 13,000 hours to the hospital.

“Dorothy was always so gentle, kind and welcome to everyone,” Scanlan says.

Up until the day before she died, Grice sat with her husband on her front porch on Thacker Street, visiting with neighbors.

Besides her husband and son, Grice is survived by four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Services have been held.