In Tuesday’s (4/3) Grand Rapids Press, Garret Ellison writes, “There was always some kind of musical event to attend when Wendy Greeney would visit her mother, Edith, in Grand Rapids. … For a mother whose name has become synonymous with the Grand Rapids Symphony for the last 30 years, it really was not a surprise. ‘She was always involved in music in some way, either playing, teaching or trying to promote the arts in any way she could,’ said Greeney, of Milwaukee, Wis., who has returned to Grand Rapids this week for the funeral of her mother, Edith Blodgett. Mrs. Blodgett, 95, died Monday at her residence in the Beacon Hill retirement community in Grand Rapids. Her death came as a surprise to family and friends, some of whom had just attended the symphony’s classical series performance with the feisty nonagenarian Friday night at DeVos Hall. … [Blodgett] became a Grand Rapids Symphony Society board member in 1969, and in 1974 became the first female president of the board—the same year the symphony began hiring full-time players. She served until 1978 and has remained as one of the few honorary board members since, regularly attending board meetings until late last year.”
Posted April 4, 2012
