Jerre E. Gratz |
| Posted 2007-01-22 by Casa Grande Valley News |
| FLORENCE - Jerre E. Gratz, 82, died Dec. 26, 2006 at Arizona Heart Hospital in Phoenix. The memorial service was at 3 p.m. Sunday at First Presbyterian Church in Florence, with another at First United Presbyterian Church in Newville, Pa., in the spring. Mr. Gratz enlisted in the Marine Corps at the age of 17 and served with the 1st Marine Division on Pavuvu Island in the South Pacific during World War II. He was in the first wave ashore in the attack on Okinawa on April 1, 1945. He retired from the Marine Corps as a colonel and in 1977 received the Meritorious Service Award for Outstanding Service. He graduated from William Penn High School in Harrisburg, Pa., in 1942. He received a bachelor of science degree from Shippensburg University, a master's degree from Penn State University and a doctorate from the University of Houston. He taught business subjects at Girard College, Columbia High School and Cumberland Valley High School in Pennsylvania, where he also coached basketball, football and baseball. His university teaching consisted of professorships of business at Shippensburg University, Northern Arizona University, the University of Iowa and the University of Texas-Pan American, where he also served a year as interim dean of the School of Business. He was a visiting professor at the universities of Vermont, Michigan and Houston. He also taught military strategy to officers at the Command and Staff College in Quantico, Va. In addition, he was a consultant for IBM, the U.S. Department of Labor and many public school districts. Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Elizabeth Webber Gratz; a daughter, Kathleen E. Gratz of Mesa; a son, Jerre Michael Gratz of Florence; a sister, Jo Anne Gahres of Dillsburg, Pa.; one grandson; two stepgrandsons; two great-grandchildren; and five stepgreat-grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to the memorial fund of First Presbyterian or First United Presbyterian Church. ©Casa Grande Valley Newspapers Inc. 2007 |
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