Elisabeth Graham

ELISABETH BETTYANN CHILDS ROWSE GRAHAM, 88, educational consultant and curriculum designer, died December 28 in Chapel Hill, NC. Born August 8, 1923 in Montpelier, VT to Harwood and Willa Whitson Childs, she spent her childhood in Princeton, NJ, where her father was a professor of politics at Princeton University. Mrs. Graham volunteered extensively in schools, educational organizations, and with the League of Women Voters. Her volunteer work began in the late 1940s with the Foreign Policy Association's Great Decisions Program. In 1952, she co-founded the Technical Education and Assistance Mission to help underdeveloped countries. From 1960-74, she lived in Washington, DC, where she worked to improve DC Public Schools. She volunteered with the John Eaton School PTA, serving as President in 1968-69, with Walter Mondale as PTA Vice President. She sought a creative environment for children that offered "freedom to talk, to question, to be spontaneous, responsible and inventive in solving real as well as academic problems." She became an Honorary Life Member of the DC Congress of Parents and Teachers for her many contributions. Always an innovator, she helped develop a six-week course on the history and culture of China for DC public schools because she wanted students to "appreciate and respect ways of life other than their own. Such respect is the prime ingredient of peace." The Washington Post reported: "The course is unusual in two respects: It is the first attempt to give DC public school students a more-than-cursory background in Chinese history and culture, and it is the only course in any subject ...designed by interested parents rather than by a school system's Curriculum Department." In 1968, Mrs. Graham served as a consultant to the White House Taskforce on Education of the Gifted. Her writings include "The Creative Atmosphere" 1968, The Language of Due Process 1970 and various unpublished papers on creativity, ability grouping, testing and representation. She believed in teaching the Constitution to elementary school students. In 1969, she founded the Educational Rights Council, a lobbying group that promoted children's educational rights through curriculum development. Former owner of the Washington, DC bookstore Politics and Prose, Barbara Meade, said of Mrs. Graham: "She contributed immeasurably to our planet and served as a role model for many, including me. She was completely committed to social justice and a visionary for her time." Mrs. Graham returned to Princeton, NJ in 1974 and later worked for the NJ Department of Education and the NJ Education Association, planning "Good Ideas" conferences and workshops. Her 32-year marriage to author and journalist, Arthur E. Rowse, III ended in divorce in 1979. In 1986, she married George Adams Graham, a professor of politics and public administration, who died in 2005. Mrs. Graham received a B.A. in American History from Wellesley College in 1945 was class president from 1970-75 and took graduate courses in political science and history at Georgetown and Princeton Universities. Mrs. Graham is survived by seven children: Ruth Rowse Christopher Dahl of Geneseo, NY, Martha Dirk Kelder of Chapel Hill, NC, Margaret Brad Michaelson of North Hollywood, CA, Mary Rowse of Washington, DC, Robert Rowse Colette Twigg-Rowse of Falmouth, ME, Carolee Rowse Russell Carter of Chevy Chase, MD, and Patricia Rowse Don Engel of Washington, DC; six grandchildren: George Dahl, Matthew and Alexander Michaelson, and Olivia, Chlo, and Marijke Rowse; and by her sisters, Margaret Childs Armstrong of Princeton, NJ and Martha Childs Sproul of Mystic, CT. A memorial service will be held at her home in Chapel Hill on Jan. 15, 2012 at 2:30 pm, with the Rev. Robert E. Dunham officiating. Donations may be made in her name to her favorite classical music station, WCPE, PO Box 897, Wake Forest, NC 27588 or University Presbyterian Church, PO Box 509, Chapel Hill, NC 27514.