Gladys Catherine Smith (Scott-Griffin) was born to Julia Ferrell and Arthur Smith on September 11, 1907 in Macon, Georgia. After the death of her mother when she was 8, Gladys was raised in the loving and spiritual home of her grandparents, Nancy and Charles Ferrell, along with her 11 aunts and uncles. She loved her grandmother dearly, and she credited her influence greatly with setting high standards – the importance of education, hard work and independence; her introduction to Christian life; good manners, diction and behavior; being devoted to her friends; respecting her elders; visiting the sick, and doing her best at all times. She had one brother, Charles Bryant and a dear sister, Helen Bryant (Clement).

Gladys attended public and Catholic schools until the 8th grade. She then went to a private school, Ballard Normal, established by the American Missionary Society of New England. Gladys graduated with honors in May 1925 and her classmates voted her the best all around student. Her teachers were missionaries of the Congregational church, some with masters and doctorate degrees from Harvard, Yale, Howard, and the Universities of Michigan and Iowa, among others. It was at Ballard that she learned the importance of higher education, in order to be trained to return and uplift our people.

Gladys described herself as a great ‘Tom-Boy’- climbing, jumping, walking on stilts, riding her brother’s bike, and putting golf balls in the backyard. She read books on tennis in Ballard’s library and was a self taught tennis player. She was a forward on Ballard’s basketball team and described seeing her name – ‘Gladys Smith – star forward’ flashed on the screen of the serial movies at the Douglas Theater on Saturdays, after they had won a game.

In September of 1925, Gladys moved to Detroit with her aunt and uncle, Hazel (Prete) and Fletcher Patterson to attend the City College of Detroit, now Wayne State University. Her aunt loved her dearly and knew she wanted to attend college. They took work as caretakers to an apartment complex to be able to pay her tuition at City College. Gladys described helping her aunt and uncle with work around the apartment complex on Lawton. She graduated with an A.B. degree and later obtained graduate credits in social work and public administration.

Gladys met her community of friends on the tennis court and at church. She played on Northwestern High School, Belle Isle and Kronk courts. She was a member of the City College tennis, volleyball and basketball teams and was one of the first two women to earn a school letter and leather jacket. Gladys, won the two tennis tournaments that she entered, and boasted of beating the Detroit winner of the city tournament, who had been trained by a well known tennis coach in Hamtramck.

Gladys took tap dance lessons from a dance school in the Fox Theatre building and danced in the Nacirema and Jabberwock shows. She also enjoyed double dating and attending basketball games at Brewster and Kronk, baseball at Tiger stadium, hockey games at the Olympia and football games at the University of Michigan, with dances at the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity house in Ann Arbor following the games. While in college, Gladys worked at Lane Bryant and the Detroit Athletic Club lounge, and volunteered by teaching tennis at the Lucy Thurman Y.W.C.A. In 1930, she spent her summer working for the City of Detroit Recreation Department, as a play leader in a playground located in the triangle of McGraw and Milford Avenues.

While at City College, Gladys pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha in 1928 with her lifelong friend Pansy Mack. She described fun times on probation, visiting sorors in skirt and blouse, with one pink stocking and one green. Gladys continued her service to the sorority as an active member of the Detroit graduate chapter Alpha Rho Omega for over 85 years. She also enjoyed working with the Las Vegas graduate chapter, where she spent her winters.

In the fall of 1930, in the midst of the Great Depression, Gladys joined a young Democratic political group headed by Herman “Fats” Anderson. He let them know that a civil service examination was being given for Welfare workers. Gladys took the exam, passed and was hired that same day as a social worker for the City of Detroit Welfare Department. It was there that Gladys worked in Family, Children’s and Court Services. Before the merger of the city, county and state welfare departments, she transferred to the psychiatric division, then a City department. She assisted with Probate Court cases for the fair treatment of mentally ill patients. She retired from the City of Detroit Services Department in July of 1971.

Gladys met George (Bob) Robert Scott in her first English class at City College. They began dating in 1934 and were married at the old Plymouth Church on April 11, 1936. Affectionately known as ‘My Bob Scott,’ she often spoke of how he gave up college to begin work as a policeman, to help put his sister Dorothy through college. George later became the second black policeman promoted to sergeant on the Detroit Police Department force.

Gladys and Bob had three children: Carolyn in1937; Helen in 1940; and Julie in 1944. Helen died as an infant in the hospital shortly after birth. They shared a warm home, full of lively debate, on Woodland Avenue. Gladys was a working mom and shared both child and home care duties with her husband, long before this became the norm. She opened her home to friends, family, in-laws and neighbors, taking care of others just as she had been taught in Macon, GA. Her ‘adopted’ family was legendary and grew every day.

Gladys enjoyed bridge and was considered an expert player. She maintained membership in many bridge clubs, and enjoyed entertaining her friends and attending their weekly meetings.

After Bob’s death in 1979, Gladys was courted by Thomas (Griff) Griffin, a dear friend that she had met on the tennis courts in 1925. Griff had introduced Gladys to her first husband Bob, and was an usher in their wedding. Gladys, in turn had introduced Griff to his first wife, Eleanor in 1940. Gladys and Griff were married February 2, 1982 and shared time together until his death in 1983.

Over the years Gladys had made many trips to Idlewild, Michigan, staying with friends or renting cottages during Idlewild week. They enjoyed the beauty of the lake and partying at the Flamingo and Purple Palace night clubs. In 1968, Gladys made the decision to buy a cottage, overruling her husband Bob, who later grew to love their time ‘Up North.’ Gladys spent summers in Idlewild with her expanding family up until a month before her passing.

In her retirement, Gladys studied Spanish and traveled the globe, often without her husband, who did not like flying. Trips were taken to wonderful places including Mexico, China, Thailand, Greece, Spain and France. Her favorite place to travel was Las Vegas, where she decided to spend winters as a ‘snowbird’ for over 25 years. She nourished lifelong friendships in Las Vegas, where she played and won at ‘Keno’, attended arts and sporting events and enjoyed the ‘DSD’s’ or ‘Do Something Different’ club where members took turns planning monthly activities they had never tried before.

Gladys loved her family and leaves a big piece of her heart in her daughters, Carolyn Stevens and Julie Carter; grandchildren, Karen Stevens Pierce (Anthony) and Cheryl Stevens; the late Scott Carter and Robin Carter Stoecker (Doug); great-grands Lindsay, Allison and Nicole Pierce; and Samantha and Scott Stoecker; niece Nancy Butler (Jesse); nephew Charles Clement; great nieces/nephews Robert Perkins and Jennifer Young along with their children.

Gladys also came to adopt all of our friends, family, church members, neighbors and strangers alike – who had lost their moms or grandmothers too soon. Her latest adoption included all of her ‘Angel’ caregivers and staff at Heatherwood and in Idlewild, who she inspired with her zest for life, endless optimism and pleasant nature in the face of difficulty. Gladys lives on in the hearts of all she touched. Her love is infinite.