10/12/2026
Monday Moment 💛
As we celebrate 20 years of Family Nurturing Center, I keep thinking about our founder, Mary-Curtis Gramley, and how much she understood long before the rest of us caught up.
She was my friend, at times my mentor, and then my cheerleader. At her core, she was a fierce advocate for children. She was fascinated by them—how they played, learned, and made sense of the world. She knew play was essential to learning and that social and emotional development would shape their lives.
Mary-Curtis understood that parents needed help and shouldn’t have to do it alone. She wrote a white paper on family-centered treatment, knowing that supporting parents could benefit their children for a lifetime. She saw how substance use disorder contributed to foster care and believed our community could build a solution.
That’s why I love this work: the possibility of lasting change that reaches across generations. I’m forever grateful that I was entrusted to nurture her “baby” and have the privilege of seeing the fruits of her labor of love.
I still talk to her, still ask what she thinks about decisions and directions. I knew I couldn’t fill her shoes, so I put on my own and tried to continue along her path.
Her legacy will continue to inspire hope and innovation, keeping children and families at the forefront of our decisions. We will continue to believe in people until they believe in themselves.
Rest in peace, Mary-Curtis.
October 24, 1936 – May 17, 2021
