Candidates for Howard County government have always had busy schedules. They have to file paperwork, raise funds, assemble a team, knock on doors and hand out campaign materials.

But if they were smart, they made time to meet with Grace Kubofcik, said Democratic Del. M. Courtney Watson, who represents Ellicott City. And if they weren’t, that’s OK, because Kubofcik would seek out a meeting with them anyway.

For decades, Kubofcik was a Howard County institution. She knew almost every politician, regularly attended and spoke at county meetings, served as president of the League of Women Voters, championed historical and environmental preservation, and advocated for affordable housing. It was like she was everywhere, all the time, and knew everything, friends said.

“She was smart and curious and intellectually driven, and liked figuring out puzzles and working with people to figure out the best solution to a problem or a challenge,” Watson said. “She was everybody’s cheerleader.”

The approach gained her respect on both sides of the aisle. Her support — whether for a candidacy, a bill or a local initiative — held weight. It still does, even if she’s not here to say it herself.

Kubofcik, who also loved spending time with family and doting on her four grandchildren, died June 9 of a pulmonary blood clot. She was 83.

She was born Jan. 29, 1942, to Robert and Grace Douglas. She was their only child and grew up in New York City, only leaving to attend boarding school at Moravian Academy in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She returned to New York to attend Wagner College in Staten Island, where she earned a bachelor’s degree and played tennis and field hockey.

Kubofcik started her career at the Social Security Administration, and a chance meeting led her to her eventual husband, Jim Kubofcik. The two were volunteering at the 1964 World’s Fair, and he asked her to grab a cup of coffee. She replied, “I don’t drink coffee.”

It wasn’t to shut him down — she really just didn’t drink coffee. Later, when they were married, she told him she’d walked away from that interaction and said, “I think I met my future husband.”

They married in 1966 and moved to Maryland when Jim got a promotion at work. They briefly lived in an apartment before buying a home in Ellicott City, where they raised their two sons, Mark and Joseph, both born before the turn of the decade. Grace was a city girl, so her husband taught her how to drive, and she quickly became immersed in Howard County living.

When the boys were little, Grace stayed home with them, and Mark Kubofcik has clear memories of standing at the bus stop with his mother. Grace liked that her neighborhood was diverse, and she valued her local community.

“She was just very resourceful and very, very open to everybody,” Mark Kubofcik said. “If somebody fell off their bike, she wouldn’t hesitate to take the kid to the hospital or contact the parents if they weren’t home. She would go above and beyond.”

She often took her children to the library and instilled progressive values in them, her son said. She was a massive proponent of racial equality and feminism. They also enjoyed spending time outside together.

“She really taught me about nature, just being quiet and using your eyes and ears and just listening,” Mark Kubofcik said. “Sometimes she would tell my brother and I to do less talking, more listening, especially with animals and just being aware of nature.”

She joined the PTA at her sons’ school, began volunteering with the League of Women Voters and showed up to city and county meetings. She ran for local office, unsuccessfully, but she’d made her name known. She became an expert on zoning matters and an unofficial adviser on local politics.

When Elizabeth Bobo was elected in 1986 as Howard County executive — the first woman in that kind of role statewide — she brought Grace Kubofcik on as administrative assistant, her husband said. Though the county executives changed, they all had the same high regard for Kubofcik, who stuck around. Over time, she became a fixture in the county.

Howard County Councilwoman Liz Walsh first met Grace Kubofcik during her first campaign in 2018. Kubofcik asked the candidate to grab coffee, and Walsh immediately knew “she was just one of these people who wants to help everyone do a good job.”

“Right off the bat, she was like, ‘I’m going to help you. I’m your No. 1 supporter,’” Walsh said. “But she follows along, sees what you do, and if it does agree with her politics, then you ultimately win her over.”

Kubofcik was known to be blunt and straightforward with others — but with a smile, friends said.

“I can’t remember a time when I didn’t rely on Grace’s opinion, advice,” Walsh said. “But even if you didn’t ask for it, Grace is going to give it to you.”

Krista Threefoot, the vice president of the Howard County League of Women Voters, turned to Kubofcik for guidance when she took on a leadership role in 2021. She didn’t know much about Kubofcik before she met her, but it wasn’t long before Threefoot understood the depth of her institutional knowledge.

“She was involved in everything,” Threefoot said. “It was kind of like having this door opened to the history of this county.”

Kubofcik continued her political advocacy up until her last moments, and she often expressed her distaste with the Trump administration. In her free time, she loved gardening, swimming and vacationing in the Outer Banks.

Above all, she enjoyed spending time with her four grandchildren, who accompanied her to many political events. When Mark Kubofcik first told his mother he was expecting a child a little over two decades ago, she literally jumped up and down with excitement.

Grace Kubofcik’s friends and colleagues hope she is remembered as a gentle and well-informed advocate who always tried to do the right thing. There is a tree planted at the Howard County Conservancy honoring Kubofcik’s advocacy work, and her family will host a celebration of life there on July 11 from 6 to 10 p.m.

“I just hope there’s somewhere I can look up and see a special star up there,” Jim Kubofcik said. “It’s beyond belief for me that I was lucky enough to be with somebody like that.”

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