Joellen Grady

Joellen Marie Walker Grady

June 7, 1941 – April 18, 2026

Before we understood what faith meant, we watched our mother live it.

We saw her read her Bible and devotionals every morning over a bowl of cereal. We took note of how she moved through her days with calm and grace, regardless of what life was throwing at her. We watched her show up for people repeatedly because she believed that’s what she was called to do.

That was our Mommy.

Joellen Marie Walker Grady was born on June 7, 1941, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Billie Stockton Walker and Joel Walker. She grew up in Madisonville and graduated from Withrow High School in 1959. She went off to college at West Virginia State University before switching to fashion pursuits at the Traphagen School of Design in New York. She eventually made her way back to Cincinnati and took business classes at the University of Cincinnati.

Then she met the love of her life.

August Joseph Grady of New Orleans came to Cincinnati for a blind date. Not long after meeting Mommy, he asked for her hand and married her a few months later on September 9, 1967. Theirs was a real kind of love. They were best friends, beautifully matched. She had a glow about her when our father was around, and even after his passing in 2014, that love never faded.

We grew up inside a powerful love story.

As our family and her career blossomed, Mommy decided to finish what she started and earned her Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations from the Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities.

Throughout her rewarding career, she chose jobs where she could make an impact on youth or the community. She served in education, communications and public service, including the Office of the Mayor for the City of Cincinnati. At the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, she launched the Catholic Inner-City School Education Fund to support students at seven inner-city schools. She carried that same commitment into her roles at St. Joseph Orphanage and the Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities.

In 1991, she became Executive Director of the Council of Christian Communions, the first woman and first non-clergy person to lead the organization in its more than 100-year

history. Under her leadership, the organization stabilized and expanded its reach across the city.

Mommy believed in filling the needs where she saw them, and that belief guided her work. When families couldn’t afford to visit loved ones in prison, she created a way for them to get there. When traditional approaches weren’t reaching young people, she pushed to make programs more relevant to their real lives. She created opportunities for ministry beyond the church, reaching into schools, juvenile detention centers and correctional facilities, and mobilized thousands of volunteers across the region. People still talk about The Council’s annual dinner.

Mommy loved her church family and had been a devoted member of Carmel Presbyterian Church for more than 40 years. She served as an Elder, Deacon, Trustee, choir member and tireless volunteer. Her church life was constant, and she poured into Carmel with love and quiet leadership.

She was also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and a co-founding member of Women’s Alliance, Inc., an organization she and her friends launched in 1966 to provide scholarships and cultural enrichment to Black youth.

In 2014, Mommy was named an Enquirer Woman of the Year, an honor our Dad got to witness shortly before he passed away. She was a Certified Fund-Raising Executive, one of Cincinnati’s 50 Black Female Community Leaders, a member of Leadership Cincinnati Class VIII and an honorary member of Nu Tau Sigma Businesswomen’s Sorority.

But service always mattered more to Mommy than any title or recognition. And people felt that.

It’s only been a short time since she left us, but we’ve heard countless stories about Mommy’s kindness, her grace and her ability to make you feel like you mattered. They talk about her beautiful smile and that laugh you could pick out anywhere.

We’ll miss the way she would break into baby talk and make the funniest faces, sometimes right as a picture was being taken. We’ll miss hearing her call us “Shell-Bell” and “Dawn-Nessie” in that sweet voice that only she had. We’ll miss her lasagna, her oyster dressing and the way her home always took us back to the comforts of childhood.

She was an amazing mother to us and, as we grew older, an even better friend. She gave us a village, as her friends became our aunties and uncles, and their children became our cousins. That extended family remains one of her greatest gifts to us.

One thing is clear about Mommy. She left a lasting mark on everyone she met, and we are so grateful that we got to be hers. We will miss her deeply. We will carry her always. And we will continue to walk in the example she set.

Joellen Marie Walker Grady was preceded in death by her beloved husband, August J. Grady; her mother, Billie Stockton Walker VanWinkle; and her father, Joel Walker.

She leaves behind to cherish her memory her daughters, Michelle L. Grady Fiyah (Dread) of Charlotte, NC, and Dawn L. Grady of Cincinnati, OH; sister, Kathleen Walker Gallon (Lumis); stepson, Randy Henry (Wendy); sister-in-law Sandra Grady Kinte (Kunta); nephews Quinn Murph, Robert Davis, Gregory Davis, Sherman Fontenette and Brandon Fontenette; nieces Rebekah Gallon, Stephanie Davis and Pauline Bowman (Anthony); cousins Gina Conway Holmes (Charles) and Donna Stockton Rodriguez (Felix); and a host of extended family and friends.

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Celebration of Life

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, May 2, 2026, at Carmel Presbyterian Church, 3549 Reading Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229.

· A Delta Sigma Theta Omega Omega Service will be held at 10:30 a.m.

· Visitation will begin at 11:00 a.m.

· The Celebration of Life will begin at 12:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Joellen Grady’s honor to the:

Women’s Alliance Scholarship Fund: https://givebutter.com/joellen-w-grady-founders-award-36etiw

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