James Allan Grau

Age: 77

Residence: Sequim, Washington

Funeral or Memorial Information: A memorial service will be held on Saturday, December 29th, 2012, at 3:00 pm, at Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church 525 North 5th Avenue, Sequim, WA 98382. Father Robert Rhoads will officiate over the service. Interment in the St. Luke’s Church Columbarium and a reception will immediately follow.

Personal Information:

Date and place of Death: December 13th, 2012 Olympic Memorial Hospital, Port Angeles, Washington

Date and place of Birth: November 17th, 1935, Chicago, Illinois

Father’s name: Walter August Grau

Mother’s name: Wanda Margaret Trocki

Military Service: Twenty-four years in the United States Navy. Captain James Grau (ret.)

Married to: Verona Lee Adams of Waterford, Michigan, 56 years

Date and place: October 16th, 1956 in Pontiac Michigan Occupations,

Places of Residence: A native of Chicago, Jim attended Michigan State University, becoming a member of the service fraternity Beta Sigma Phi, the Spartan Guard Drill Team, and track & field coach under Biggie Munn. He graduated in 1956 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications, and soon after, married a beautiful nursing student, Verona “Lee” Adams, his college sweetheart. Upon completion of Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island in October of 1956, he began his commission in the Naval Reserve.

Reporting to the USS Pillsbury, Jim served as Chief Engineer on the North Atlantic Barrier for three years. He then reported to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, N.Y. as Instructor of Naval Science.

He remained a drilling reservist for two years while working as a State Farm insurance adjustor in Marshall, Michigan. He then returned to active duty as Commanding Officer, Naval Reserve Center, Sheffield, Alabama.

Moving to Hanover, Massachusetts, from 1966 to 1969 Jim served as Damage Control Assistant on the USS Wasp, operating in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. He then reported to Commandant, Thirteenth Naval District, Washington D.C., serving as Director of Reserve Programs, where he was promoted to Commander in 1970.Jim was next assigned to the staff of Commander, Navy Recruiting Command, Washington D.C. During this tour he was responsible for the initiation of the coastal “Go Navy” cruises, the nationwide “Small Boat” cruises and Sales Management. This was followed by a tour as Commanding Officer, Navy Recruiting District, New York, which was named the top District in the Northeast in both Officer and Enlisted Recruiting for 1975.Assigned as Commanding Officer, Naval Reserve Center, Seattle in June of 1976, Jim then reported to the staff of Commander Naval Reserve Readiness Command Region 22, where he served as Deputy Commander. He achieved the rank of Captain in July of 1978.Jim’s final tour of duty was as Commanding Officer of the Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Center in Portland, Oregon. He retired from the Navy in 1981.Awards: Navy Commendation Medal with two Bronze Stars, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal (Second Award), Navy Expert Pistol Medal.

Drawn to the natural beauty and mild climate of the northwest, Jim and Lee built their retirement home in the foothills south of Sequim. Jim initially worked as an accountant for the Sequim Chevron, then became director of the unemployment bureau, serving people of Port Angeles, Port Townsend and Forks for three years. Soon after, as Director of the Olympic Peninsula Chapter of the Red Cross, he reorganized and improved the disaster response capabilities for Clallam and Jefferson counties. An active community member, Jim served on the Clallam County Council for four years. He volunteered for several organizations including the Sequim Valley Police Force, (one of the seven original senior volunteers), and the Sequim Visitor’s Center.

He enjoyed active memberships in both St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church of Port Angeles and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church of Sequim. He was president of the Military Officers Association, a Lions Club member, and a Lifetime Master Mason. Jim was an avid golfer, a cool-handed cribbage competitor, a voracious reader, a smooth square dancer, and an occasional color consultant on Lee’s quilts. Wherever he lived, he joined local service clubs, and attended local colleges, completing two years in seminary and an accounting degree. His hobbies were varied; antique car collecting, photography, folk guitar, scuba diving, camping, poetry, boat restoration, bonsai and theological/spiritual philosophy. In retirement, he and Lee traveled abroad often, meeting new people, learning about new places. They opened their home to the many friends they had made, and to travelers from Japan, the Philippines, Canada, Russia and the Ukraine.

Throughout his life, he was generous with his time and devoted in his service to others.

Jim is survived by his wife, Lee Grau of Sequim; his daughter, Karen Grau Johnson and husband Kris Johnson of Orting, Washington; his son Stephen A. Grau, SFC, USA Ret. and wife Beth Grau of Wakefield, Kansas; his brother-in-law and sister-in-law Darell and Barbara Adams of Waterford, Michigan; two grandchildren, Andrew James Chapman Johnson and Sarah Millet, and two great grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be sent to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 525 North Fifth Avenue, Sequim, WA 98382 or to Dungeness Valley Lutherans Health and Wellness Clinic, 777 North 5th Avenue, Sequim, WA 98382.