Funeral services for 94-year-old Gladys Elnora Kemp Lisanby, of Arlington, Virginia, formerly of Princeton, Kentucky, and Pascagoula, Mississippi, will be held Friday afternoon, July 14, 2023, at 4:00, at Ogden Memorial United Methodist Church.
Burial will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery.
Visitation will begin Friday afternoon at 3:00 at the church.
Morgan’s Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Lisanby is survived by two daughters, Dr. Elizabeth Ann Lisanby (Colonel Emilio) Bianchi of Huntsville, Alabama, Dr. Sarah Hollingsworth “Holly” (Dr. Satish Anjilvel) Lisanby of Durham, North Carolina; two grandchildren, Jennifer Kemp Bianchi (Blake) Harvard, Laura Elizabeth Bianchi; four great-grandchildren, Emilio Donovan Eli Harvard, Hattie Elizabeth Harvard, Jane Walker Harvard, Emma Jo Bianchi. She is survived by four nieces, Janet Kemp Tate of Luray, Virginia, Barbara Kemp Underwood of Ormond Beach, Florida, Mary Lou Kemp Worthington of Winchester, Virginia, and Martha Kemp Leake of Luray, Virginia.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Rear Admiral James W. Lisanby (USN, Retired); and two brothers, Joseph Daniel Kemp and Harry Loring Kemp.
She passed away peacefully on July 8, 2023, at her home in Arlington, Virginia.
Gladys was born December 14, 1928, to the late Harry Kemp and Velma Elizabeth Kibler Kemp of Luray, Virginia. She grew up in Luray with her beloved brothers, Loring and Joe. She played basketball in high school and excelled in academics, so it was no surprise that she graduated from James Madison University with a bachelor’s degree in education, with a focus on physical education and dance. She taught for 17 years in the public school systems of Virginia and California. She began her working career as a physical education teacher in a public school in Portsmouth, VA, where she was also required to teach Driver’s Education even though she herself did not yet have a driver’s license. Suffice it to say, before the end of the semester, she had her driver’s license, and she had also established a modern dance program for that high school. Given a challenge, Mrs. Lisanby never ceased to exceed expectations. She met her future husband, the late Rear Admiral James Walker Lisanby (USN Retired) in Norfolk, VA when he was on his first ship, the USS Mississippi. She later told a reporter for the Madison Magazine “It seemed like it was just meant to be,” laughing that the coincidence of the ship’s name and their future residence in Pascagoula, MS. Gladys and James were wed in 1951 and enjoyed a long and happy marriage for 61 years until the day of James’ death in 2012.
Mrs. Lisanby was known to be a beloved teacher, mentor, and benefactor all her life, supporting the education of others through scholarships that she and her late husband donated to James Madison University for students in the arts. A museum at James Madison University – The James and Gladys Kemp Lisanby Museum — was named in their honor by the fifth president of JMU, Dr. Lynwood Rose in September of 2013. As a dedicated organizer, networker, community leader, and peerless encourager of others, Mrs. Lisanby served in countless leadership roles in both civilian and military worlds – frequently simultaneously, and always whole-heartedly. Her love of the arts went back to her childhood in Virginia, where she and her ‘aunt’ Gladys, her mother’s best friend for whom she was named, delighted in exploring the many wonderful museums in nearby Washington, D.C. As a classroom teacher while a young college graduate, as the mother of two high-achieving daughters, as the grandmother of two accomplished granddaughters, and as wife and life partner of James, she always worked to make a positive difference in the lives of those around her and to bring out the best in everyone.
Living on the Mississippi Gulf Coast since the early 1970s when her husband’s Naval career first brought them to Pascagoula, MS, she worked tirelessly on community efforts, including educational and beautification projects. While serving as a member and an officer of Federated Women’s Clubs and Federated Garden Clubs, she also found time to serve on the Boards of military spouses’ groups. This included organizing the first Enlisted Wives’ Club in the area. Mrs. Lisanby established a branch of the Navy Relief Society in Pascagoula to assist military families. For this, she received a Navy Relief Society Presidential Meritorious Award in 1973.
She was a Life Member of the Davis Memorial Goodwill Industries (DMGI) Guild and was an active volunteer for DMGI beginning in 1981. She served 13 years on the Board of Trustees in Washington, D.C. She and James donated scholarships for adults to receive their high school diplomas and receive vocational training through the EXCEL program of Goodwill Industries of Greater Washington.
In 1982 Mrs. Lisanby founded a successful floral design and consulting business, Flowers Wythe Flair, and supplied expertise and beautiful floral designs to her business clients. Starting in 1983, she and her husband founded a consulting firm, Naval Services International (NSI), specializing in Defense Industries. They enjoyed traveling to new and interesting places and took each grandchild in turn on a global journey. They approached ‘retirement’ as an opportunity for yet more adventures and challenges which they embraced with gusto.
In the mid-1980s, Gladys was invited to participate in the development of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington, D.C. NMWA is the single most valuable collection of art by women in the world and is the only museum in the world dedicated to women artists in visual and performing arts. She became a member of the Women’s Committee, a group of women who lend hands-on support and involvement in Museum events. In 1998, she was challenged by Wilhelmina Cole Holladay, Founder and then Chair of the Board of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, to establish a Mississippi State Committee to further support the mission of the new museum. This mission included bringing long overdue recognition to the work of women artists. Now, the Mississippi State Committee of NMWA is thriving with representation in all parts of Mississippi.
Mrs. Lisanby served as President of the Mississippi State Committee at its inception in 1998 and guided the group through its early years of growth and accomplishment. She was considered by NMWA to be an invaluable State leader and received the coveted 2004 National Advisory Board Award for Outstanding Service to the Arts from the Museum in November. She was the first State leader to be so honored at the national level. In 2005, she was awarded the Mississippi Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, in recognition of her years of support of visual, performing, and literary arts, and for her lifetime commitment to education and volunteerism. This prestigious award was presented to her by Governor Haley Barbour for being an Outstanding Arts Patron. In the words of Marsha Barbour, then First Lady of Mississippi, “The name Gladys Lisanby is synonymous with art in Mississippi.” Shortly after this award, on August 29, 2005, James and Gladys, along with countless others on the Gulf Coast, lost their coastal home in Hurricane Katrina. It seemed that Katrina had wiped their life away, but for Gladys, life was always about family, friends, and service to others, and Katrina was no match for these values. Determined to make a positive out of a negative, she rallied members of the Mississippi State Committee to write about their personal losses and experiences with Katrina. The resulting book, “Katrina: Mississippi Women Remember”, was published by the University Press of Mississippi in 2007 and proceeds went to support the rebuilding of the Mississippi arts community. The book was dedicated to Gladys Kemp Lisanby, chair of the Katrina Project. In the words of the editor, Sally Pfister, “If not for her guidance and support it would never have come together.” In her forward to the volume, Mrs. Lisanby wrote “There is nothing so strong and powerful that it cannot be made better through the eye of the artist.”
In 2007, she received the “Mississippi Treasure Award” from the National Museum of Women in the Arts, in recognition of her contributions and dedication to the arts. In the commendation letter for this award, she was described as having the “grace of a sprite, and the resolve of an Amazon, housed in the refined presence of a southern lady.”
In an article about her that appeared in the July/August 2004 issue of Gulf Coast Woman, Mrs. Lisanby said “Art is a doorway or a passageway through which people can expand their world. Art gives a child a view far beyond hometown and school and family. How can we put a value on how art expands those horizons?” She loved antiquing and art collecting, but she was fond of saying that her greatest passion was for people. She loved staying in touch with all the fascinating people who passed through her life over the years.
As with everything she did in life, her passing was full of grace. Her last words were “Thank you.”
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Gladys’ memory to the Princeton Art Guild, 115 East Main Street, Princeton, KY 42445, or to the Excel Center of Goodwill Industries of Greater Washington: https://dcgoodwill.org/donations/give-online/.
You may light a candle or leave a message with the family at www.morgansfuneralhome.com.
