Fort Pierce sea turtle activist, 78, dies


October 17, 2006
FORT PIERCE — Grace Kedziora, 78, a former South Beach resident known as a "Turtle Mother" for her extensive work with sea turtles, died Saturday night in Anchorage, Alaska.
The cause of death was Lou Gehrig's disease, the common name for amyothropic lateral sclerosis.


A native of Pittsburgh who worked as a surgical nurse in Chicago and Miami and a school nurse in Dade County, Kedziora joined the "Turtle Mothers," a group that keeps tabs on — and occasionally rescues — nesting sea turtles and their hatchlings, soon after retiring to Hutchinson Island about 17 years ago.
Since then, her dawn patrol on a stretch of beach between Surfside Park and the south side of the Ocean Village condominiums during turtle nesting and hatching seasons became a daily ritual.

"Being a Turtle Mother was her identity, the thing she was most proud of," said Cristina Gudor of Anchorage, where Kedziora moved in August.

"Every day at dawn, we'd be there, no-see-'ums and all," said Arden Peck, a South Beach resident who for several years was a Turtle Mother with Kedziora. "And if people came up to us, Grace would always stop and give them her pearls of wisdom, to teach them about sea turtles."

Because of her tenure, Kedziora was often referred to as the "Mother Superior."

Kedziora also taught children about sea turtles at summer camps, served on the board of the Conservation Alliance of St. Lucie County, gave brown-bag lectures at the Manatee Center Observation and Education Center, volunteered for the Marine Resources Council and gave flu and pneumonia shots for the St. Lucie County Health Department.

"To me, a community needs a lot more Graces than we have," said Jeanne Hearn, of Fort Pierce, a member of the Conservation Alliance. "I can't say enough about someone like Grace who gave so much of her time and energy when she could have been sitting on the beach reading a book."

Before marrying and having five children, Kedziora lived in Europe and pre-Castro Cuba. Her kids have Spanish names because she was sure they'd return to the island one day.

"Besides being so dedicated to her causes, Grace was fun," said Hearn, recalling Kedziora's colorful outfits. "She was always festive, always stood out in a crowd."

A service on Hutchinson Island is planned but has not been scheduled.


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