When a Japanese government agency or corporation needed someone to tutor an official or executive visiting Atlanta, Grace Netland was often called into action.
Netland, who grew up in Japan and spent years in the country off and on during her parents’ mission work, knew the Asian country like the back of her hand. She was fluent in its language, an expert on its culture and a former executive director of the Japan-America Society of Georgia.
She also used her expertise as a volunteer guide and interpreter during the 1996 Olympic Summer Games in Atlanta and the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
She was the perfect choice to provide language tutoring services and to act as an interpreter and guide, said longtime friend Yoriko Matsui, a Japanese native living in Atlanta.
“She was really outgoing and friendly, and always a joy,” Matsui said. “She had a big smile, and was very caring about people.”
In addition to Japanese, Netland was fluent in German and Norwegian, her father’s native language. And she was studying Hebrew at the time of her death.
Grace Joy Netland died Aug. 11 at age 49 after a long battle with breast cancer. A memorial service will be held Sept. 9 at 10 a.m. at The Church of the Apostles, 3585 Northside Parkway N.W., Atlanta. SouthCare Cremation Society and Memorial Centers of Marietta is handling arrangements.
For nearly 19 years, Netland was a flight attendant for Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, often on overseas flights.
Joel Netland said his youngest sister’s career at Delta set the stage for a rewarding life of adventure, which included globetrotting and volunteering around the world.
“She traveled internationally as comfortably as most of us use a car,” the brother said from his home in Park City, Utah.
The late Rev. Benton and Bernice Netland instilled the importance of faith and mission work in their children, and both areas were important to Grace Netland as she grew older. She traveled to countries such as Turkey and Nepal to help local communities.
But adventure was equally important, and one of the highlights over the years was climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, Joel Netland said.
She also traveled frequently to Norway. “Grace was the glue that kept the families over there connected to us over here,” Joel Netland said.
An avid runner, Grace Netland was no stranger to local clubs and competitions. She competed in marathons and was a regular in the AJC Peachtree Road Race until cancer slowed her down. Her bookshelf at her Decatur home near Emory University is full of trophies from marathons, many reflecting top prizes in her age category.
Her battle with breast cancer began to take its toll in recent years.
“Her fight with cancer went back over five years, but the real battle was the last three and a half years during which she battled Stage 4 cancer,” Joel Netland said. By the time of her death, the cancer had spread to other parts of her body, including bones and liver.
Joel Netland, who described the family's youngest sibling as “a little bit of a spitfire,” said his sister faced her battle with cancer with the same tenacity that marked her life.
“Her strength and her trust in God was amazing,” he said. “Everything in life passed through the prism of her faith."
Grace Joy Netland's other survivors include two other brothers, Harold Netland of Chicago and John Netland of Jackson, Tenn., and a sister, Sara McKinney of Provo, Utah.
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