Presidential First Lady. She was the main reason and is given full credit for her husband's rise in politics. Grace Goodhue was born in Burlington, Vermont and grew up an only child, her father a safety steamboat inspector while her mother was a homemaker. She received an excellent education from the University of Vermont where she was very outgoing participating in many activities. Upon graduation she went to work for the Clark School for the Deaf as a teacher. She lived across the street from frugal Calvin Coolidge who was residing in a cheap boarding house room. They were in constant touch with each other as they belonged to the same boat club and were both members of the local Congregational church. They became romantically involved and after a two year engagement were married at her parents' house. He was a struggling small town lawyer. Their family was completed with the birth of two boys. Grace was outgoing and enjoyed a varied social life, while Calvin was quiet and very frugal. He became active politically rising to become the governor of Massachusetts. Soon he was the Vice President and upon the death of President Harding became the chief executive of the land. Grace Coolidge on becoming the first lady brought with her the simplicity of her New England upbringing and her love of people, outdoor activity, and animals. She was an avant baseball fan and collected score cards of the Boston Red Sox and was invited to sit in their dugout during the 1925 World Series. Tragedy struck: Her youngest son Calvin Jr. developed a blister on his foot while playing tennis barefoot on the White House court and died of a blood infection. She promoted many charitable groups but was partial to those promoting the causes of the deaf. With Prohibition in effect, she refrained from serving alcohol but lodged her own protest against the law by naming her famous pet collie after the popular scotch drink, 'Rob Roy'. After their term in office ended, she lived twenty four years longer then her husband. Her latter years were spent publishing poems and articles for American Magazine. She became president of the board of the Clark School for the Deaf. She received a gold medal from the National Institute of Social Sciences and was voted one of America's twelve greatest living women. Grace always found the town cemetery in Plymouth where the Coolidge family members are buried as a quiet, special place to remember her family. They both sent flowers to the graveside of their son on a regular basis. The president would find his final resting place there and she would follow.
Bio by: Donald Greyfield