Roy Jefferson Grimley Jr.
July 31, 1927-Feb. 23, 2014
Fort Mohave, Arizona
Submitted by Nancy Grimley Carleton
Former Palo Alto resident Roy Jefferson Grimley Jr., 86, who retired to Fort Mohave, Ariz., died at home on Feb. 23, 2014, with his wife by his side and their cats nearby.
Roy was born July 31, 1927, in Paterson, N.J., to the late Roy Jefferson Grimley Sr. and Marion Elizabeth Frank Grimley of Ridgewood, N.J. He graduated from Ridgewood High School in 1945.
Roy was drafted into the Army of the United States on Mar. 1, 1946, and was stationed in the Philippines, where he served as private first class (PFC) and wrote for Stars and Stripes. He received his honorable discharge on Apr. 15, 1947. He then attended his first three years at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va. He was proud that his dad, Roy Sr., class of 1921, designed the commemorative stamp for the university?s 200th anniversary in 1949, leading to a meeting with President Truman in the Oval Office.
In 1953, Roy married Ruth Tanner, who he had met at a church social group, and after a stint working at Chase Bank in New York City returned to Washington and Lee in 1956 to continue his studies. In addition to being a member of the Glee Club, Roy served as a newscast announcer and disc jockey at the college radio station, and played the Frank Sinatra recording of the song ?Nancy (with the Laughing Face)? on the air to announce his daughter Nancy?s birth in Sept. 1957.
Roy and family moved back to New Jersey, where his son Jeff was born in July 1959. Roy and Ruth divorced in 1962, and Roy moved to Northern California to be near his children, bringing with him Lucky, an abandoned dog he had rescued in Virginia, and eventually buying a home in Palo Alto. When his children were young, Roy loved taking them to Disneyland and Yosemite National Park, as well as on jaunts to Bay Area destinations from Monterey to Marin County, including happy explorations of the Stanford campus and visits to exhibitions at the San Francisco Cow Palace. He enjoyed shooting hoops at local parks and was equally adept with right and left hands. He worked for Stanford University?s comptroller office and various title insurance companies during the 1960s and 70s, with a final post as loan officer at Transamerica Title.
In 1974, following the sudden death of his beloved sister Gloria Grimley Hemphill at the age of 45 due to complications from gallbladder surgery, Roy went east to take care of his aging mother. His father had died in 1966. He took up running in his late 40s and logged over 10,000 miles before his knees started protesting. After his mother?s death in 1979, Roy returned to his home in Palo Alto. Christmas had always been a favorite holiday, and in the 1980s Roy played the part of a seasonal Santa Claus at mid-peninsula shopping malls, where his infectious humor brought good cheer to children and parents alike. At one point he had the entire San Francisco 49er football team sit on his lap, including Ronnie Lott and Bubba Paris.
In 1986, he met Lessandra (Sandra) Sigretto at a piano bar at the Prime Rib in Palo Alto, where both enjoyed singing. He'd show up still dressed in full Santa gear, and they immediately hit it off. In 1987, Sandra played elf to Roy?s Santa, and in coming years they enjoyed dressing in costume for Halloween and singing with a circle of piano-bar regulars, later adding a personal karaoke machine to the mix. Roy?s dog Lucky Armstrong was also a beloved companion during this period.
Roy and Sandra married on Sept. 27, 1987, with Roy singing the Barbra Streisand love song ?Evergreen?; his feelings for Sandra lent more vibrato than usual to his rendition. They retired to Fort Mohave in 1996. During their retirement, Sandra enjoyed having more time for her art, and Roy loved watching sports and listening to music, especially big-band hits from the Golden Era. They shared a deep love for their family of dogs and cats (in his final days Roy whispered to Sandra to tell the kitties he'd still be there watching over them), and they took care of Sandra?s mother, Muriel B. Sigretto Thompson, until her death at the age of 100 in 2010 (Roy had hoped to reach his 100th too, but did well to make it through "the 46th anniversary of [his] 40th birthday," as he?d made it through the previous 45 he?d celebrated). A lifelong fan of The Lawrence Welk Show, Roy had a beautiful singing and speaking voice and enjoyed regaling everyone he met with stories of his chance encounters with famous people, including crooner Bing Crosby, big-band leader Glenn Miller, comedian Bob Hope, tennis champions Don Budge and Billie Jean King, writer and W&L alum Tom Wolfe, golf great Arnold Palmer and folksinger Joan Baez, to name but a few. His friendly manner made it easy for him to connect with people of all backgrounds.
Roy was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in early 2013, with complications from diabetes. He appreciated the care provided by doctors and nurses in Arizona, Nevada, and Florida, as well as by his caring hospice team; Sandra?s loving support allowed him to die at home as he?d wished.
Roy is survived by his wife, Lessandra Sigretto Grimley, of Fort Mohave; his daughter, Nancy Grimley Carleton, of Berkeley, Calif., his son, Jeff Grimley Carleton, his granddaughter, Melissa Elizabeth Carleton and his children?s mother, Ruth Tanner Carleton, of Palo Alto; his brother-in-law William T. Hemphill, nephew, Harc Dimmick Hemphill, and niece, Laura Hemphill Faseler, of Texas; Sandra?s daughter, Constance Weirick, and granddaughter, Stephanie, of Florida, and son, Don (and Josie Capraro) Weirick, of Georgia; and beloved friends and extended family.
Tags: veteran, business
