Clifford Ray Grubbs

Clifford Ray Grubbs passed away Monday, April 13, 2015, at a Fort Worth hospital. Service: 2 p.m. Friday in Bean-Massey-Burge Funeral Home Chapel in Grand Prairie. Interment: Southland Memorial Park. Viewing and visitation: 1:30 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. Memorials: In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Union Gospel Mission of Tarrant County or a charity of choice. Cliff was born Feb. 24, 1959, in Dallas. He graduated from Grand Prairie High School in 1977 and proceeded to earn a bachelor's degree in business administration at Texas Tech University in 1981. While a student, Cliff was also an accomplished athlete throughout his life, winning multiple recognitions and awards in football, wrestling and weightlifting. Always social and charming, Cliff was known for his sharp wit and wonderful sense of humor. Cliff was ever loyal and devoted to those he called friend. As one friend stated, "When you're a 13-year-old kid in the foxhole (of life), Cliff was the one you wanted in there with you. You knew you could always count on him to have your back." After college, Cliff became very successful in the world of finance, rising throughout his career, but his seizures and illnesses were too much to overcome. Even at his lowest times, Cliff was always striving and willing to help others. He was an eloquent writer and wrote "A Few Steps from the Blues," a series of articles published in Fort Worth Business Press. The articles depict how close any of us are to falling into homelessness. Cliff viewed working/volunteering at the YMCA with special needs individuals as an inspiration, not as a challenge or threat. He was predeceased by his parents, Calvin Ray and Patricia McIver Grubbs. Survivors: Uncle, Bob Grubbs and wife, Beth, of Burleson; aunts, Mary Lou Storm and Lois Sheehan; multiple cousins; and close friends.