Grant G. Gullickson

1920 - 2016

Grant G. Gullickson

Virginia Beach - Commander Grant "Gully" Gerhard Gullickson, U.S. Navy (Retired), 95, passed away July 20, 2016 at his home in Virginia Beach surrounded by his loved ones.

Gully was a wonderful son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather. He is survived by his loving wife Celia; a daughter, Gigi Gullickson Kelly and her husband John of San Jose, CA; two sons, Gregg Grant Gullickson and his wife Denise of Clifton, VA, and Gary G. Gullickson and his wife Barbara of Virginia Beach, VA; and a stepson, Kenneth Alan Gibert of Winter Garden, FL. He is also survived by five grandchildren, Christopher and his wife Danielle, Brad and his wife Lisa, Grant, Megan and her husband Michael, and Sean, as well as three great grandchildren Elle Marie, Rivers Grant, and Emmeline Marie. He was predeceased by his loving wife of 58 years, Beatrice, and an infant son, Galen.

Gully was born on the family homestead in Taylor, North Dakota on October 2, 1920 and had two brothers and six sisters. This loving family provided the strong foundation for Gully's never-ending positive attitude. Even at the end his mantra was "Everything is great."

Gully's life was a wonderful journey that allowed him to see much of the world and make many friends. In 1939, he joined the Navy in Great Lakes, beginning a 30-year naval career. During WWII Gully was a young sailor in USS Mississippi in both Pacific and Atlantic fleets. In 1942-1944, Gully was a chief machinist mate in USS Corry. On June 6, 1944 (D-day) Corry was sunk while providing naval gunfire support to the first waves of troops landing on Utah Beach. Twenty-four of Gully's shipmates were lost on D-day, and later in life Gully along with his Corry shipmates met every year for forty years to remember their lost shipmates.

Gully joined USS John Q. Roberts in the Pacific in 1944 and ended the war in Tokyo harbor. After the war he served in USS Burke out of Norfolk. In 1952 Gully was commissioned as a Limited Duty Officer and then served as chief engineer in four ships out of Norfolk: USS Aldebaran, USS Rigel, USS Northampton (the president's command ship), and USS Forrestal (America's first super carrier). Gully also saw combat action off the coast of North Vietnam while leading a manpower validation team assigned to USS Barney.

After Gully's distinguished naval career, he joined a great team at Military Circle Mall in 1970 as the chief engineer and later became general manager until he retired in 1985.

Following his mother's example, Gully dedicated himself to helping others. He was a member of many service groups and was twice president of the Lake Shores Civic League. Gully was an accomplished mechanic having learned to work on Model T's as a young boy. He had a passion for cars throughout his life and it was common to find Gully up to his elbows in grease and asking for some wrench to be handed to him. Gully loved to travel, and he and his family made many memorable trips from Virginia to North Dakota and Europe. His house was always open for visitors wherever he lived and his generosity and gusto for life were constants in his household.

A funeral service will be conducted Sunday at 2:00 p.m. in Hollomon-Brown Funeral Home, Bayside Chapel. The naval burial will follow at Arlington National Cemetery in the upcoming months. The family will receive friends at the funeral home Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Navy Memorial, 701 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Suite 123, Washington, DC 20004 - In memory of Grant Gullickson.