Grace Wahlberg

Jan 24, 1929 - Dec 2, 2020

Grace Merren ( Morton) Wahlberg ( aka Grace Sparrow) died peacefully on 12.2.2020 with family at her side in Brattleboro, Vermont, where she lived for her final 2 ½ years. Born January 24, 1929 in North Hollywood, California, to Hettie Good Morton and Carroll Tracy Morton she lived most of her life in her beloved San Francisco Bay Area. She attended San Mateo High School and Willamette University where she met Orville James ( O. J.) Sparrow whom she married in 1948. She graduated pregnant (“Magna Cum Lise” as she would say) from UCLA in 1950 with a degree in English Literature. For the rest of her life she was an inveterate reader of the New Yorker, fiction, mysteries, and her daily San Francisco Chronicle in its entirety. The couple moved frequently then ended up in Kensington, California in 1958 and raised their 5 children there.

Grace was a tender mother who loved to laugh and managed the family chores with her characteristic wit and good spirits. The boys knew they could get away with anything if they came up with a wicked impersonation of some pompous parishioner, or tell a story with some spot on foreign accent. The family could fill a book with all the funny quips and quotes and snippets of songs she came up with over the years. She would, for example, grumble the biblical “how sharper than a serpent’s tooth is an ungrateful child!”. This eventually became “how sharper!” as shorthand. Phone calls might end with “Keep me abreast of what is afoot!”. Or she would belt out “Food Glorious Food!”, the “Oliver!” refrain, at the sight of something tasty. She was, in fact, a “foodie” decades before they existed and a superb cook.

Berkeley’s All Souls Church was at the center of her social and church going life for 60 years. She served for over 50 years on the Altar Guild and sang in the choir. She belonged to Berkeley’s Town and Gown Club for 40 + years, participating in their plays and events. She dearly loved her countless close friends and was a staunch support for them in times of trouble. With a beautiful alto voice, she was a member of the Faculty Women’s Chorus at UC Berkeley. She devotedly attended the San Francisco Symphony and appreciated all kinds of music. In reality, she was constantly singing or humming. If one paid attention, one of her favorites was “I did it my way” in an idiosyncratic pepped up version. And she did!

She loved travel and was inspired to take up photography, ultimately becoming an excellent photographer. She developed commissioned black and white portraits in the dark room and later was a fan of digital photography. She lovingly photographed all of her grandchildren.

She and O. J. divorced in 1982 and she later married Sven Walhberg in 1989, a prominent Swedish environmentalist. With him she travelled widely on environmental protection projects, always returning with unique photos of people, especially children. She and Sven relished their time at their vacation home in Twain Harte, often with friends and family, going to “the beach” or “the rock” at Twain Harte Lake. Holidays with Sven inevitably included a lavish Swedish Smorgasbord, and a lively party. She remained friends with Sven’s family until the end. With her short hair and lipstick only good looks Grace maintained an unerring sense of personal style. She had a knack for looking elegant no matter what the occasion, from the Nobel Proceedings to sunning at “the rock”. Her homes were beautiful and welcoming being decorated with photos and artifacts from her travels, her needle point projects, baskets of toys, quirky cartoons, and all things birds.

Grace was predeceased by her husbands, her brothers, Robert and Tracy, and by two of her sons, Timothy and Andrew. She is survived by her daughters, Lise, and Kristen, and her son, Paul, as well as by ten grandchildren: Ian, Allison, Kyra, Joseph, Marieke, Guillaume, Madeline, Annika, Claudia, and Audrey, and six great grandchildren.

She was, until the very end, filled with grace and good humor, and displayed the impeccable manners of a lifetime despite her failing memory. (“My BRAIN” she would lament.) To her nurse caretakers she would airily say “Come again!” when they left her room or the continual “Thank you!”. She was acclaimed by all as a beautiful person, inside and out.

Funeral arrangements will be announced at a future date. Donations may be made in her memory to All Souls Episcopal Church.