William Richard Grace

William Richard Grace age 87 died suddenly Dec. 30, 2014 in Sun City, Arizona where he was a winter resident for 21 years. He was born Mar. 4, 1927 in Portland, OR the son of Edwin Edward Grace and Susanna Martha Fehr. Bill was a WWII veteran and a proud member of the Oregon Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve. He attended Vanport College and graduated from Portland Sate University in 1987. He was a member of the Portland Fire Bureau retiring as a Lieutenant in 1982 after 32 years of service. Bill was an active member of Mountain Park Church in Lake Oswego, Oregon and attended First Baptist Church of Sun City, Arizona. Bill was preceded in death by his first wife Olive Elizabeth Brice. He is survived by his wife of 23 years Gladys Albin-Grace and brother Stan Grace. He was a father to: Irene Grace (Richard Goldszer), Linda Grace (Jeffrey Stockdale), Richard Grace (Paulette Raab), William Grace (Cathy Capps) and James Grace (Dorothy Cummings) and a Swedish son Goran Skugge (Katarina Bjorklund). There are ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Services will be at the Wilhelm Funeral Home- 6705 SE 14th Av, Portland, OR with interment to follow at Willamette National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions be sent to The Legacy Oregon Burn Center or The Wounded Warrior Project. My father was a Christian Man who worked multiple jobs early in his adult life to support his large 5 children family. He was actively involved in coaching all three of his boys Baseball and Basketball teams and enjoyed his life in the Oregon National Guard where he attained the rank of E9 (Chief Master Sgt). He was a Fire Firefighter in the Portland Fire Department and in his Air Guard life. His son Rich followed in his footsteps in joining the Portland Fire Department while his sons William and James (me) both joined the United States Marine Corps, became helicopter pilots and retired at the rank of Colonel. Clearly, his impact on our life was great. The oldest, Irene, speaks multiple languages and became a teacher and eventually a University Professor at the University of Michigan. She has multiple God Children and her heart knows no limits to helping those in need. Daughter Linda is perhaps the very best of all of us as she is an Independent Insurance Dealer, part owner of that business and has a heart of pure gold. Again, Dads impact can be seen in all of us. What we will miss most about Dad is his words of encouragement. They were hard to come by, but made you feel so good when you heard them. He loved traveling the world with Gladys; I can't count how many cruises they went on. Europe, South America mostly and were planning another one in September 2015. Gladys has sustained my fathers life since my Mother died. He loves Gladys dearly and I believe they were best friends as well as husband and wife, companions and world travelers. Service Information