 Mabel Grizzard
March 22, 1888
"Mabel Youree Grizzard (accent on the first syllable) is a native of Ellis County, Texas, the daughter of Walton Henry Grizzard and Hattie Youree Grizzard. Her ancestors came to Texas from Alabama and Tennessee, playing a conspicuous part in early American history.
"As a child, Mabel attended private schools before graduating with honors from the Waxahachie public schools. Then she completed work for a diploma from the North Texas State Normal School in Denton, where she was a pupil of Dr. Annie Webb Blanton. In later years, Miss Grizzard studied at Peabody College in Nashville, Tennessee, and at the University of Denver. Seeking to learn the best educational methods extant, she spent many summers in research and study; she observed practices in the leading university demonstration schools of the nation."
Miss Grizzard taught in three schools over the years: Bristol School in Ellis County, the State Orphans Home in Corsicana and at a large elementary school in Waxahachie where she served first as a teacher and then as principal for approximately forty years. She was granted a leave of absence for two years during that time to become an elementary supervisor of rural schools in Texas. She also served as an assistant to the State Superintendent of Instruction, Dr. Blanton, during the summers.
Miss Grizzard was active in several educational associations. She served on the Executive Board of the North Texas Division of Elementary Principals and was president of the Ellis County unit of Texas State Teachers Association. She was active with the National Principals Association of NEA and the National Society for the Study of Education. Her elementary school PTA presented her with a life membership in the National Congress of Parents and Teachers.
"Both Mabel and Eva Frances Grizzard were invited to assist with founding The Delta Kappa Gamma Society. Illness in the home prevented Eva Frances from accepting, but Mabel attended the initial meeting in Austin. She assisted Dr. Annie Webb Blanton in founding Alpha Alpha Chapter (Ellis County) on May 23, 1931, in Waxahachie."
Miss Grizzard was chairman of the Committee on Progress of Delta Kappa Gamma (1930-1931) and the Necrology Committee (1934-1935). She served as a member of Nominations Committee (1931-1934), Initiation (1932-1935), National Achievement Award (1933-1934), Progress of Delta Kappa Gamma (1936-1938) and Necrology (1954-1956).
Mabel Youree Grizzard died on July 12, 1968, and was buried in the Hillcrest Burial Park in Waxahachie.
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