Zona Maie Griswold

Zona Maie Griswold was born in Mulhall, Oklahoma and raised in Dallas, Texas,[1] the daughter of John Nelson Griswold and Florence Belle Young Griswold. Her father worked as a railroad freight agent;[2] her mother was a song composer.[3] Zona Maie Griswold studied voice at the New England Conservatory of Music, with further training in Berlin.[4]

In 1914 Griswold was one of the soloists at the Texas State Saengerfest.[4][5] She also sang with the Grand Saline Band and the Apollo Chorus of Fort Worth.[6][7]

During her time in New York, Griswold was soloist at Glen Ridge Congregational Church in New Jersey, and sang regularly at other churches and clubs,[8][9][10] and often on radio in the 1920s.[11][12] "Her limpid, clear, vibrant tone quality, her excellent musicianship, and her serious devotion to artistic ideals have gained for her a widespread demand to sing more songs more frequently," according to a 1924 report.[13]

She appeared (as an opera singer) on Broadway in The Guardsman (1924-1925). She also taught singing in New York.[14]

Zona Maie Griswold married businessman Edward August Fimmen in 1916. They had daughters, Zona Maie (born 1917) and Florence Lilly (born 1919).[15] She was widowed when Edward died in 1947.[16] She died from Parkinson's disease in 1961, aged 71, while living with her daughter in Des Moines, Iowa.[17] She was buried in Dallas.[18]

• Zona Maie Griswold at the Internet Broadway Database
• Zona Maie Griswold at Find a Grave