Cathedral City to Honor Sarah Di Grandi

Sarah Di Grandi Once Declined an Offer to Become

CATHEDRAL CITY — Friends, family and community members are invited to celebrate former Cathedral City Councilmember Sarah Di Grandi on Thursday, August 27, 2026, as the City unveils a street-sign topper honoring her years of public and community service.

The City Street Topper Reveal will begin at 9:00 a.m. at the corner of Pickfair Street and Buddy Rogers Avenue. The street topper was purchased with funds donatSSed by Cathedral City business owner Richard Altman, owner of CCBC and The Runway. The City is installing the topper and conducting the official reveal ceremony.

Immediately following the City ceremony, Richard Altman and Sunshine Herrera are organizing a Community Celebration for Sarah Di Grandi at the Mary Pickford Theatre. The gathering will begin at approximately 9:30 a.m. and will also celebrate Di Grandi’s 91st birthday. Ted Hane, general manager of the Mary Pickford Theatre, donated the use of the space for the celebration.

The Mary Pickford Theatre is an especially fitting location. It was one of the downtown projects Di Grandi worked on during her years on the City Council and Redevelopment Agency. Returning there to celebrate her service and 91st birthday gives the gathering a personal connection to the downtown she helped build.

The birthday celebration is open and free to the public. It is privately and community funded and is separate from the City’s installation and official reveal of the street topper.

Born Sarah Elowene Cromer on August 27, 1935, in Columbia, Tennessee, Di Grandi came to the California desert with her family when she was 17. When her parents returned to Tennessee in 1954, she chose to remain in the desert and build a life of her own.

Di Grandi began her banking career after asking Desert Bank in Palm Springs to give her two weeks to prove she could learn the job. Her banking work led to her involvement with local chambers of commerce and, later, Cathedral City government.

Di Grandi made Cathedral City her home in 1957, when the community was still unincorporated and Ramon Road was largely a route people used to pass through town. She and her family chose Cathedral City because they wanted to raise their children in what was then considered the country.

Di Grandi first ran for the Cathedral City City Council in 1983 after Shirley Copeland and other Cathedral City Chamber of Commerce members encouraged her to become a candidate. It was still early in the City’s history following its incorporation in 1981. Di Grandi went on to serve four terms and approximately 16 years on the City Council, leaving office in December 2000.

During her time on the Council, Di Grandi served as mayor pro tem and presided over Council meetings when the mayor was absent. She also served on the Cathedral City Redevelopment Agency board and participated in the work of building Cathedral City’s downtown.

Di Grandi considers downtown redevelopment one of the accomplishments of which she is most proud. Her years in office included work involving Buddy Rogers Avenue, the downtown area and the Mary Pickford Theatre, which she remembers as one of the City’s best additions for entertainment.

Her public service extended beyond City Hall. Di Grandi represented Cathedral City in regional work involving the Coachella Valley Association of Governments and the Southern California Association of Governments. She also represented the City on the SunLine Transit Agency Board of Directors, serving three years as vice chair and one year as chair.

Di Grandi supported the City’s commissions, including the Public Arts Commission, and remained closely involved with the Cathedral City Senior Center. She also served through Rotary, including helping provide Thanksgiving meals to students at the local continuation school. She brought her grandsons with her to teach them the importance of respecting others and helping people.

Her community service included collecting necessities for women through the House of Hope, supporting children and the Boys & Girls Club, and opening her home to Marines and sailors during the holidays. She received the Cathedral City Chamber of Commerce ATHENA Award for her professional and community involvement.

Di Grandi approached public office as service, not as a title. She declined an opportunity to become mayor because, in her words, “I didn’t run for notoriety. I ran to help.”

She worked full time while raising three children and serving on the Council. She spent evenings and weekends reading agenda materials, consulting with the city manager when she needed more information, and preparing for major decisions. Di Grandi estimates that she missed fewer than 10 meetings during her 16 years in office.

Faith also guided her public service. Before Council meetings, she prayed for the courage, wisdom and knowledge needed to make decisions for the community.

When asked how she would like to be remembered, Di Grandi said she hopes people remember that she was always there when something needed to be done and that they could depend on her.

EVENT INFORMATION