Kenneth Grigsby
July 10, 1951 ~ November 28, 2020
Kenneth Grigsby, 69, passed away on November 28, 2020 at his home in Canyon Lake, Texas after a long battle with cancer. He was born July 10, 1951 in Astoria, Oregon, the son of Donald and Victoria Szymanski Grigsby.
He was preceded in death by his parents. Kenneth is survived by his wife of almost 45 years, Nina Grigsby (nee Heft), his sons, Steven Grigsby of Canyon Lake and Robert Grigsby and partner Ediovany Salazar of Davenport, Iowa, and his sister, Patricia Anderson of Henderson, Nevada, along with loving brother/sister in laws, nieces, and nephews.
He graduated from Valley High School in Las Vegas and entered the US Navy in 1971 and until 1978 worked as a nuclear electrician onboard the USS Pogy, a submarine based at Pearl Harbor. He later worked for Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard for 19 years as a trainer and nuclear training director. After relocating to Canyon Lake, Texas in 1997 he worked for USAA as a project scheduler until his retirement in February, 2019.
Ken was an avid sailor and one of his favorite pastimes was sailing their sailboat to Waikiki and other islands with Nina, the boys, and other family and friends. He continued his love for the water and spending time with friends and family at Canyon Lake. He was a great husband, father, brother, uncle, and friend who will be missed by all who knew him.
Due to coronavirus, there will be a celebration of his life later on when friends and family can gather safely.
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Adventures were the norm with Ken taking lead. Whether we were “frying bugs”, collecting rattlers, or jumping in freshly raked leaves, I willingly followed my big brother. We swam in ice cold waters of the Rogue River, slept & played games in the back of the family station wagon on our treks to Shasta Lake, rode Ken built go-carts down the hills in our neighborhood, we were always outside until dark. We moved to LV in the 60’s and Ken’s new adventures began. He tied a parachute to the back of his VW Beetle at Dry Lake for a sky-high ride! Got his pilot license at Hughes Air Terminal at 16 and showed me the blue skies over the desert. Went shooting in the high desert for-why not. When Ken was stationed @ Pearl Harbor, we sailed around the Islands, seeing whales & barges come too close, flying fish overhead and sleeping in a rigged hammock swaying over the dark seas. We camped, walked the sandy beaches, laughing and smiling no matter if we were being churned in a wave, being stung by jellyfish, or falling off our boogey boards. After retiring, moving to TX became another adventure. Skunks, squirrels, deer, not a match for Ken’s Smoking/Grilling skills. Ken was open hearted & kind, funny & smart, handyman extraordinaire & a wonderful brother. Love you Ken. Forever in my heart. Love Sis
I knew And hung out with Ken when we were shipmates on the USS Pogy. We had fun times and I really enjoyed riding in his convertible Karman Ghia. He was a great guy!
We met Ken and Nina over 8 years ago when he invited us going boating with him. This started a wonderful friendship and we are so thankful for the many memories we made over the years. Ken was a wonderful and funny human being. His stories about life on a submarine will forever bring a smile to our face. We will never forget him. RIP dear Ken. Our deepest condolences to Nina, Steven, Robert and Patti. We are praying for your healing, comfort, strength and peace during this painful time.
When I started work as an instructor at the shipyard, Ken Grigsby was already there, working alone. We were instructors together there for many years. In the early days, we had one manual typewriter, and when we did cut-and-paste it really was cut and paste. Over the years, Ken and I steadily implemented the entire range of office automation technology from an early stand-alone word processor with magnetic disks the size of a large pizza, all the way to modern computers and the internet. One of Ken’s many talents was fixing things. Any thing. When I mentioned to him that my treasured personal Field Effect Transistor Multimeter had been “smoked”, Ken volunteered to try to fix it. He took it home on a Friday afternoon, and by Monday morning it was as good as new. I know that he did extensive plumbing work at his house, and of course boat maintenance and repair. As co-workers, I heard many interesting stories, including his description of Las Vegas High School adventures such as towing each other behind a jeep while dangling from a parachute in the desert, the “dance of the flaming something-or-other” in a foreign port on Pogy, and his enjoyment of times at Manele Bay on Lanai. Ken had a close friendship with Herb Forsberg, and they often sailed and socialized together. Ken Grigsby was probably the most resilient person I have known. After particularly tough days at work, we often felt like we had been shot full of arrows. Ken always went right back to work, with no sign of hesitation or uncertainty. I know that he was determined to be a good husband and father.
We were borne before the wind
Also younger than the sun
Ere the bonnie boat was won
As we sailed into the mystic
Van Morrison – Into the Mystic
It was a pleasure to work with Ken Grigsby.
Terry