Peter Hale Granzeau

NEWPORT NEWS - Peter Hale Granzeau, 80, son of the late Dr. Herbert William Granzeau and Dayle Hampel Granzeau of Burlington, WI and husband of 52 years to the late Mary Page Wade Granzeau, passed from this life on Sunday, March 6, 2016 at his home in The Huntington. Born in Mineola, NY, He moved to Burlington, WI when he was 6 months old. He graduated from Burlington High School and DePauw University. He was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity and earned a B.A. in Political Science. He served as Lieutenant JG in the US Navy and was stationed in Norfolk, VA where he met and married his wife, Mary Page. He worked in the insurance industry, and moved his family from Norfolk to Winston-Salem and Charlotte, NC, and then to Mechanicsburg, PA. He received computer training from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania before going to work at the New Cumberland Army Depot as a Programmer/Analyst. The move into the growing field of computer science gave him the second great love of his life in computers. In 1974, he accepted a civilian position at Langley Air Force Base as a Systems Analyst and moved his family to Hampton. Soon after, he met his third great love in the form of his dog Abby. A member of the First UCC, Hampton, he served as a Deacon and was a member of the Good Time Singers senior choir. He loved music, especially classical music. He was a good singer, played trombone in high school, and taught himself to play the guitar, which he would use to lead family sing-a-longs. His other passions were computers and science fiction. He was both a founding member of DIGIT, the DIgital Group In Tidewater, and one of its last surviving members. He is survived by his daughter Emily G. Whitley and her husband Frank and son Greg all of Sandston and son David of Chesapeake, his daughter Caroline P. Pfister and her fiancé Arthur B. Byrne and her children Wendy and Jack, all of Charlottesville, brother Tim Granzeau and his wife Lib of Springfield, IL, and sister Penelope Jones and her husband Roger of Vancouver, WA. A memorial service will be conducted at 2 P. M. Friday, March 11 by the Rev. Lisa Gaul at the First United Church of Christ, Hampton. The family will receive friends following the service in the church social hall. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the First United Church of Christ, 1017 Todds Lane, Hampton, VA 23666.