Quiet legacy of strength: Sally Page, longtime community leader, UND administrator, dies at 75

Feb. 08--Sally Page, community leader and longtime UND administrator, died last Friday in the Grand Forks Valley Eldercare Center. She was 75.

Though she was born in the state of Michigan, Page--described in an obituary by her sister, Suann Nichols, as a "pioneer in the field of affirmative action"--set down local roots that spread deep and wide.

Page came to UND in 1977 to lead the university's affirmative action and compliance office. She had started working with such programs shortly after they were founded in the U.S. and, according to Nichols, was one of the first women to establish a presence in the domain. Page would continue that work until her 2012 retirement.

UND spokesman Peter Johnson said Page had an expertise that was sought out by leaders across the North Dakota University System.

"She was a tremendous professional, in terms of knowing affirmative action law, the rules and regulations, and knowing how they applied to higher education," Johnson said, "but also in terms of the humanity in which she worked with people."

When remembering her sister, Nichols reflected on the planned eulogy to be delivered by Gordon Henry, another longtime UND leader.

"Gordon said to me the other day, 'I never saw Sally socially but she was such a real human being and she cared so deeply about people,'" Nichols said, adding that the characterization was "something that I always knew."

"She had a way of always trying to give people options," Nichols said, "but she could play hardball, and she had to do that from time to time."

Personally, though, Nichols described her sister as a caring soul--a "pussycat," she said, who was generous with her time.

That giving was extended to some of the community's most vulnerable members.

When the sisters' mother--herself a resident of Valley Memorial Homes in Grand Forks--faced increasingly severe dementia, Page would visit her in the evenings after finishing work.

There, she would read to her mother and other residents, sometimes bringing them recordings of the Lawrence Welk Show.

Those early visits started an involvement with the facility that lasted until the end.

Sue Bjornstad, president of Valley Memorial Foundation, the center's fundraising wing, described Page as a friend and mentor who dedicated herself to making sure caregivers had the support they needed to watch over loved ones with memory loss.

That included special occasions as well as day-to-day concerns. When Page noticed that some residents received no gifts for Christmas, she set about to making their holiday a little more cheery. Under her advocacy, Valley Memorial staff began assembling wish lists for the residents in their care and, soon enough, gifts began appearing on Christmas Day.

Page even established an endowment with the center--one of two she set up there--to keep the giving alive for many Christmases yet to come.

'She stood strong'

Valley Memorial wasn't the only place where Page volunteered her time. She was a lifelong supporter of the Girl Scouts of America, serving for some time as the president of the local GSA Council. And for many years, Page was a leader of the housing nonprofit Grand Forks Homes Inc. The organization owns and operates more than 370 affordable housing units, including those at 110 Cherry Street and in the yet-to-be-finished LaGrave on First building.

Terry Hanson, head of the Grand Forks Housing Authority and secretary of Grand Forks Homes, said Page was "instrumental" to the nonprofit's growth.

Page was president of the nonprofit's board when the Flood of 1997 washed over Grand Forks, destroying much of its housing supply. Under Page's leadership, Hanson said Grand Forks Homes began to build replacement housing, expanding from its core mission of focusing on low-income developments. That move was controversial at the time, Hanson said, as critics believed the non-profit was moving into a role that should be filled solely by private industry.

However, Hanson believes today that Page made the correct decision to move forward with building replacement stock after the flood.

"She stood strong, even with considerable criticism, and from community leaders, when she knew it was the right thing to do," Hanson said.

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