Bob graduated from White Station High School in Memphis in 1968. He was always an avid reader, and during his teens he corresponded with his favorite author, John D. McDonald, and later with Ian Fleming. Bob also had a flair for writing. While Bob was in high school, his English teacher, Dr. Adrian McClaren, submitted to a southern literary journal a story Bob had written for a class assignment. The story was a satire based on the Shakespearean tragedy, Macbeth. Its publication was a surprise to Bob and a source of pride for his family and his school.
Bob later attended Lambuth University in Jackson, Tennessee. Always on the cutting edge of the rock music scene, Bob opened and briefly owned an independent record store in East Memphis. He later worked as a courier at the Parkview Manor retirement community in the historic Parkview Hotel in midtown Memphis.
Bob moved to Birmingham in 2006. Due to poor health, he lived in skilled living facilities during the last ten years of his life. The family is grateful for the kindness of the staff at Arabella Health and Wellness, where Bob resided for seven years, as well as the care of Affinity Hospice in Birmingham.
Bob was preceded in death by his parents William R. Grissom and Frances C. Pugh and his stepfather Ronald Pugh, all of Memphis. He is survived by a son, Trevor Herndon of Dorset, England, as well as his sister Virginia G. Bradley (Ginger) and his nieces Mallory (Alan) Rushing and Rachel Wadley, all of whom reside in Birmingham. He also is survived by great nephews and a niece in Birmingham and an aunt, uncle, and cousins in the Memphis area.
A memorial service will be held in Memphis at a later date.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.9.5