Robert Kurzman, of Kurzman & Eisenberg, White Plains,
N.Y., called the O'Dwyer website March 14 to ask that the
website cease any phone calls to Susan Garrett, who has power
of attorney for the late Denny Griswold, or her husband, Russell
Garrett.
The website made about four calls to the Garrett residence
since learning on March 6 of the death of Griswold, leaving
a message on the voice answering system. None of them was
returned.
Denny Griswold at the
Public Affairs Council's 30th anniversary gala in Washington,
D.C., in 1985. She's chatting with the then Chief Justice
of the United States, Warren Burger. With them is Mrs.
Burger. |
Kurzman said the O'Dwyer website has "no legal standing"
in the matter and if there are any questions for Susan Garrett
they should be addressed by relatives of Griswold's late husband,
Langdon Sullivan, to Garrett.
Asked whether Griswold's will has been submitted to Probate
Court in Norwalk, Conn., Kurzman said that because of a trust
Griswold created the will may not have to go through Probate.
Asked about the 50 years or more of PR memorabilia and artifacts
connected with the publishing of PR News, which Griswold
owned for many years, Kurzman said that all papers are a matter
of confidentiality within the family.
Wilton Meadows
Owned by Transcon
Wilton Meadows Heathcare Center, Wilton, Conn., where Griswold
resided from mid-1995 until her death, is owned by Transcon
Builders, Cleveland, which also owns other healthcare facilities
including The Greens at Cannondale in Wilton and Greenwich
Woods Health Care Center, Greenwich, Conn. Calls were placed
to Peter Rzepka, chairman, and Fred Rzepka, president, of
Transcon.
Federal Law
Mandates Access
Federal Law calls for the resident of a healthcare facility
to have a "dignified existence, self-determination, and
communication with and access to persons and services inside
and outside the facility. A facility must protect and promote
the rights of each resident..." it says.
Numerous friends of Griswold said they have been unable to
contact her for years.
Sheila Kelley, a member of Women Executives in PR, of which
Griswold was a co-founder in 1945, said that the group made
"heroic" efforts to reach Griswold but failed at
every turn.
Kelley said that Griswold's best friend in WEPR, the late
Phyllis Berlowe (who died Feb. 9, 2000), was assigned to the
task and "tried and tried and tried to reach Griswold
by any and all means but finally gave up."
She said Berlowe finally talked to "a family member"
but was unable to get through to Griswold herself.
Kelley, who also knew Griswold well, said friends were aware
that she had a hearing problem but that she wore a hearing
aid and had no trouble conducting a normal conversation.
"We never even had to raise our voices when speaking
to Denny," said Kelley.
Griswold held
in restraints
An "ombudsman" who visited Denny Griswold in the early afternoon
of May 13, 1996, at the Wilton Meadows Healthcare Center,
found her sleeping "in restraints."
She described Griswold as "an attractive, older woman" who
"appeared to be alert and oriented."
Griswold told the ombudsman, who is not identified in the
Norwalk, Conn., Probate Court papers, that she is able to
walk with her walker for a short distance.
Asked about her hearing aid because Griswold had trouble
hearing the ombudsman, she said it was at home but that it
was defective. She asked the ombudsman for a new hearing aid.
Asked why she was in restraints, Griswold said she had fallen
once when trying to get out of bed. She said she would prefer
not to be in restraints.
Griswold also asked for visits by her stepdaughter, Margo
Grosvenor, and her step-grandson, John. She also said she
would like to get letters from them.
Papers in file at Norwalk Probate Court show that Susan Garrett,
niece of Griswold, had power of attorney for Griswold.
A legal battle took place in 1996 in which Grosvenor tried
to win conservator status for Griswold.
Griswold Ran
Own Affairs
However, Griswold signed a paper on July 27, 1996 saying
she wished to continue being in "full charge of my personal,
financial, and health affairs" with assistance as provided
for in a revocable living trust.
An agreement signed by Garrett and Grosvenor on July 9, 1996
provided that Garrett would not impose "any restrictions"
on visits or letter-writing by the Grosvenor family (relatives
of Langdon Sullivan, deceased husband of Griswold). Whether
this agreement was ever lived up to is not known.
Grosvenor has complained that she has been unable to visit
Griswold in recent years.
Numerous friends of Griswold said they have been unable to
write to or visit her for about five years.
John Paulus, former senior VP of PR and PA at Allegheny International,
said March 13 he was one of her best friends and constantly
exchanged cards and letters with her until mid-1995 when the
exchange suddenly stopped.
The Probate filings indicate that Griswold was mentally alert.
"She is considered to be at a very high functioning level,"
said the report of the ombudsman who spoke to the floor nurse
and director of nurses at Wilton Meadows.
"They expressed some concern in regard to her being in restraints
in bed as well as in a wheelchair," said the report, adding:
"They were also concerned in regard to (Griswold) not getting
a hearing aid."
The ombudsman noted that Griswold had not been told that
her husband had died.
Another court paper, on the subject of hearing aids, said
the "staff has a strict policy on handling the hearing aid
to prevent misplacement of it."
When the ombudsman visited her again on May 23, 1996, Griswold
told her, "You are the woman that visited me and talked to
me about my rights."
Said the report: "Ombudsman did inform resident that her
niece, Susan Garrett, does have power of attorney and she
refuses to allow her stepdaughter and her stepgrandson to
visit her as well as withholding her mail. Mrs. Sullivan (Griswold)
stated she does not believe that her niece, Susan, would do
that."
Griswold gave the ombudsman permission to provide Grosvenor
and her son, John, with a report on the two conversations.
The ombudsman said she would consult with Garrett "in regard
to allowing resident to see family members that she wishes
as well as releasing all her mail."
Griswold Not
Reachable
Numerous friends of Denny Griswold and the family of J. Langdon
Sullivan, her husband, said they have not been able to contact
her since around mid-1995.
Langdon Sullivan and
Denny Griswold as they appeared around 1970. |
Griswold died of a heart attack Feb. 7 in Norwalk hospital,
Norwalk, Conn., after a one-day illness.
The death certificate said she died of an acute anterior
myocardiac infarction. She would have been 93 March 24.
Ray Gaulke, former president of PR Society of America, said
that a committee of three representing PRSA had several meetings
with Griswold to discuss turning her four-story townhouse
at 127 E. 80th st. into a memorial communications center.
Plans included a PR museum and a training center. A contract
was drawn up providing that Griswold would live in the townhouse
for the rest of her life.
Margot Grosvenor of Newport, R.I., stepdaughter of Griswold,
said the Sullivan family approved of the gift of the townhouse
to PR and also the gift of a number of Colonial antiques to
the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Grosvenor said the Sullivan family was deeply upset that
it was not notified of the death of Griswold by Susan Garrett,
the daughter of Griswold's brother, who has been in charge
of Griswold since at least 1995. The antiques were in the
Sullivan family many years.
The family dates to Colonial times. John Sullivan was a general
in the Revolutionary Army and James Sullivan was governor
of Massachusetts.
Griswold, the daughter of Frank and Rose Prager, was cremated
Feb. 12 at Lakeview Cemetery, Bridgeport, Conn. The death
certificate said the maiden name of Griswold's mother was
"unobtainable."
Griswold's home address was given as the Wilton Meadows Healthcare
Center, Wilton, Conn.
Burson, Budd
& Gaulke Held Talks
The PRSA committee members were Gaulke, Harold Burson and
John Budd. Gaulke said that Griswold suddenly "disappeared"
and he never had contact with her again.
The Sullivan family gathered
at the family cemetery in Durham, N.H. in the summer of
1996. Denny Griswold's husband, Langdon Sullivan, is buried
there and Griswold's name is also on the gravestone, "as
she had requested it," said a member of the Sullivan family.
Instead, Griswold was cremated at a cemetery in Bridgeport,
Conn. |
A silver tray that had been created memorializing the proposed
gift was never given to her. An attempt to deliver the tray
to Wilton Meadows, where Griswold became a resident, was unsuccessful,
he said.
Numerous other PR people said they were aware of the talks
between PRSA and Griswold. New York PR pro Norma Lee said
she was visiting with Griswold one day while two men from
the Metropolitan Museum were present making a list of items
that might be given to the Museum.
Terry Mayer of New York and Wes Pedersen of Washington, D.C.,
are among many PR pros who said they were unable to contact
Griswold since 1995 either by phone or mail.
Some PR pros said they went to Wilton Meadows in an effort
to see her but were turned away.
Niece Susan
Garrett Took Charge
Griswold came under the care of Garrett and her husband,
Russell Garrett, whose address is listed on the death certificate
as 501 Westport ave., Norwalk, Conn.
Griswold resided at Wilton
Meadows from 1995 until her death Feb. 7. |
The local phone company, SNET, said no information was available
on phones for either Susan or Russell Garrett. This is the
complete absence of a listing rather than a simple "unlisted
number," SNET said.
Attempts by the O'Dwyer website, the Sullivan family and
friends of Griswold to reach the Garretts in recent days have
been unsuccessful.
Russell Garrett told Jack O'Dwyer's Newsletter in 1998 that
Griswold was "fine physically" but was still recuperating
from a broken hip.
A friend of Griswold who called Wilton Meadows at that time
said he was told: "The family has asked that no messages go
through to her without their approval."
Griswold told many friends
she was thinking of donating her $3 million townhouse
to the PR field and contracts were drawn up providing
this. |
Friends said Griswold appeared to be in normal mental health
when they last talked to her in 1995.
The townhouse was sold several years ago for a reported $3.2
million.
It is not known what happened to the antiques or all of the
papers connected with PR News, which Griswold edited for nearly
50 years.
Langdon Sullivan, who died in 1995 at the age of 92 after
a long illness, is survived by two daughters, Diana S. Spenski
of Virginia Beach, and Margot S. Grosvenor of Newport, R.I.,
and a son, James R.O. Sullivan, of Wellesley, Mass.; 12 grandchildren,
and 18 great-grandchildren.
|