St. Pete is celebrated for its fabulous weather, beautiful vistas, world-class food scene, and thriving cultural atmosphere, but the people of St. Pete truly make this city something special. In appreciation, each month Green Bench shines a light on one of the many people who make St. Pete unique.
Moving to St. Pete in 2010, Laura McGrath contributed to the success of a variety of projects involving historic preservation and the arts. Her untimely death in April 2022 represents a deep loss for both her family and the St. Pete community she loved.
Taking Deep Dives
Born in Georgia in 1945 and raised in Ohio, McGrath demonstrated a passion for learning and doing from a young age. After graduating from high school in 1963, she continued her quest for knowledge at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania. This liberal arts college was the perfect educational foundation for the budding writer and supporter of the arts. It also was the perfect place for finding love. Meeting in the school choir, Laura and Tom McGrath married in 1967 and relocated to Corning, N.Y., after graduation. Laura McGrath immediately made an impact on her new community as a teacher and administrator at the local community college before she was recruited to take charge of a failing local arts center. Under her guidance, 171 Cedar Arts rose to prominence. She then turned her attention to cultivating clients for her own business, in which she wrote and edited speeches, articles, and books covering a variety of topics. A self-described “learning junkie,” she loved taking deep dives into whatever material was necessary to produce authentic quality work.
Preserving the Best of St. Pete
When Laura and Tom McGrath relocated to the Sunshine City in 2010, she continued to write and devoted significant additional time to projects designed to enhance and shape the character of her Historic Kenwood neighborhood. Combining rising interest in historic preservation and her longtime passion for art, she was instrumental in winning local historic district designations for several different blocks within Historic Kenwood as well as obtaining the neighborhood’s designation as an Artists Enclave. She also joined the board of the Sunken Garden Forever Foundation. Her passion and skills helped the organization to move forward toward a blossoming future. When the couple relocated to Westminster Suncoast in 2021, she didn’t slow down. She became an integral part of the community’s garden committee and was helping to shape its future projects. McGrath was completely committed to connecting with the world. As her family noted, she “found interest in everybody she met, and she found almost everything interesting.”
Connecting
As her daughter Colleen McGrath Lilley described, “Mom’s connection with people was special. She made everyone feel important whether she met them only once or knew them for a lifetime.” McGrath’s family clearly benefited because they had a lifetime with this vibrant and positive person. She encouraged her daughters, Colleen and Heather, to follow their passions. She supported Tom’s love of environmental science, even becoming an expert on Bahamian Reef corals in the process. Many examples could be offered to illustrate her ability to connect, but McGrath’s relationship with her granddaughter, Marlo, paints the most beautiful portrait. More than 50 years after music brought Tom and Laura together, Marlo and her “granny” discovered their mutual love for music, especially music for dancing. When not dancing, the two might be found cooking or baking together. As the “light of her life,” Marlo provided the surest way for McGrath to indulge her silly side. One year after her tragic death, her family still misses the sound of that laughter but they are grateful for the time they had.
