To be successful in business, an individual should possess an entrepreneurial spirit and not be afraid to take risks.

That description fits businesswoman and community leader Fay Gridley, who died July 16, 2018.

For 43 years, she partnered with her husband, Jack, and later daughter Gail Oliphant to operate Gridleys of Fountain Hills, a business that provided products and services for other business owners and consumers.

Talking about her business strategy in a 2013 interview, Fay said “Our motto has been to help our business help yours.”

When Fay and Jack moved from Kalamazoo, Mich., to Fountain Hills in 1973, they opened McDowell Mountains Stationery and Office Supply Co. on North Saguaro Boulevard. The store quickly became the go-to-place for homebuilders, real estate agents, mortgage lenders and fledgling companies.

Son Mark learned the printing business and worked with his father. They installed a blue print copying machine so customers could make copies without driving to Scottsdale.

They expanded their services to print a community newsletter, “Freenotes,” that predated The Fountain Hills Times; church bulletins, and the first telephone directory for the town and Rio Verde.

As the town evolved, so did the business. Fay had a keen sense in understanding what her customers and tourists wanted.

“We don’t feel like we’re selling so much as helping fulfill a person’s needs,” she said in an interview.

The business moved in 1977 to the Avenue of the Fountains where they added a gift department and changed the name to Gridleys of Fountain Hills. They operated the business until its closing in 2017.

An avid reader, Fay hosted local authors for book signings and promoted artists’ talents. The store’s location in the middle of the town’s arts and crafts festivals instigated expansion into artists’ supplies.

In the town’s formative years, Fay was instrumental in the town’s incorporation process. She served as the second Chamber of Commerce chair in 1975. The chamber would select her Business Person of the Year in 1988.

Her community involvement earned her membership into the Lower Verde Valley Hall of Fame.

During the Chamber’s annual holiday event that kicked off the Christmas shopping season, Fay would greet customers and serve homemade snacks at the open house. Her selection of Southwest-designed greeting cards were popular annual items.