REMEMBERING GRACE ORMONDE - IN HER OWN WORDS

GRACE ORMONDE 1960-2025

Grace Ormonde, 65 of Barrington, RI, passed away peacefully at home on Tuesday, August 12, 2025 surrounded by people she loved. Born in Angra do Heroismo, Terceira, Portugal, she was the daughter of Maria Noemia Ormonde of Barrington, and the late José M. Ormonde.

I was born on the island of Terceira in the Azores. When I was a child, my father would carry me from the hilltop of our modest home to the edge of the lava cliffs, where we gazed at the deep blue of the Atlantic Ocean. That memory stayed with me, and over the years I associated the vastness of that vista with the vastness of life’s opportunities and possibilities. My family immigrated to the United States when I was eight years old. My three brothers and I were raised with the belief that anything is possible. Our parents always encouraged us to dream and aim high. They instilled in us, among many things, a strong sense of purpose and an appreciation for family and our heritage, leading by example.

I was sixteen when I started working in an engraving boutique in Providence, Rhode Island. Natalie took me under her wing and taught me how to engrave. Over time, I learned so much more from her. She instilled confidence in me and inspired me with her entrepreneurial spirit. We traveled to New York and other destinations, and she exposed me to the theater and the arts. I began to develop my sense of taste and style. Afterall, everything in life is a progression.

I found myself involved in the magical world of weddings by accident. I helped a customer plan her wedding and during the process, I realized there was a need for one place that offered all a bride might be looking for, under one roof. So, my entrepreneurial spirit created a bridal exhibition with over 100 wedding specialists at The Providence Civic center in 1986 and I called it New England Bridal Extravaganza. I later moved the event to the beautifully restored historic building of Rhodes on the Pawtuxet and renamed it The Grand Bridal Show where it was hosted once a year for over 12 years.

In 1998, I launched my magazine Grace Ormonde Wedding Style, first locally as a New England resource and by 2002, nationally and then internationally. In its pages, I brought together brides drawn to my suggestions and the work of wedding professionals who have a unique sense for aesthetics and style.

After almost thirty years of documenting extraordinary weddings and their elements in my magazines and book, storytelling has been a labor of love. My motivation has always been not only to offer women ideas and choices for planning their wedding but also to empower them to explore unconventional options that would allow their vision for their wedding day to come to fruition.

While my intention has been to inspire women, I have also honored the creative artists who conceive extraordinary content and all the talented photographers who capture it. I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked with all of them.

My work has been my life’s mission and driving force. In my personal life, I value and cherish my family and my true good friends, and I am blessed to have had so many of them.

I have been passionate about what I do, and I find fulfillment contributing to the realization of dreams, especially when those dreams manifest love between two people. Ultimately, our ability to dream is what motivates us, and our ability to love is what sustains us—and that’s how I came up with my signature phrase “Celebrate Love!”

While I would love to spend more time and create more memories and experiences with each of you, my time has come. But rest assured, I leave fulfilled and happy to have had you be a part of my life.

And while I leave behind the love of my life Yanni, my mom Maria, my brothers, Bernardo D. Ormonde and his wife Digna Ormonde of Hobe Sound, FL, Luis G. Ormonde of Fall River, MA, Antonio H. Ormonde of Seekonk, MA, my nephew Benny Ormonde Jr., my nieces Lilliana Ormonde, Tabitha Ormonde, Gabriella Ormonde, Tori Ormonde, Danielle Ormonde and my great niece Ella Ormonde and great nephew Kyle Ormonde and being the aunt of the late Keith Ormonde and Tiffani Ormonde, I promise I will always be watching over you and hope you will always keep me, in your hearts.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, August 18, 2025 at 12 P.M. in St. Luke’s Church, 108 Washington Street, Barrington, RI. Burial will be private. Calling hours are respectfully omitted.

As much as I love flowers, those of you who choose to send some, I would prefer and urge you to make a donation instead to:

Dr. Safran's Oncology Research Fund at Rhode Island Hospital/University Health

Online at: www.giving.brownhealth.org

or by check payable to: 

RI Hospital/ Dr. Howard Safran’s Research

mail to:

Rhode Island Hospital Foundation

Howard P. Safran, MD Chief Hematology Oncology

Research Development Office,

PO Box H, Providence, RI 02901