John Joseph Grother

John Joseph Grother

John Joseph Grother's final chapter of his life was closed on May 29, 2020.

His first chapter started in Des Moines, Iowa on June 3, 1943 when he was the first baby in Des Moines placed in an incubator. Born three months premature and weighing only 2 lb. 8 oz., doctors didn't expect he would survive but thanks to the incubator, the medical staff, and his father, Clifford Grother Sr, John did survive. For 77 years he continued to beat the odds to add many more chapters to an amazing life. At the age of seven, John left a troubled home and landed his first job at the corner bar, John now had a weekly paycheck and the funds to rent a room in the attic of a local family with an outside staircase but no bathroom. He was self-raised on the Southeast bottoms of Des Moines in the shadow of the Capitol building. Several blocks from his newly rented room stood the Roadside Settlement House run by Harvey Seeds, this was where John was able to play basketball, table tennis, and also take a shower. The first customer on John's paper route was La Pizza House. It was Russ & Abby's first day in business and John bought the first pizza they made. Their pies were rectangle, cut into squares and sent out in rectangle boxes. Russ and Abby were a business model for John's entrepreneurial aspirations and the standard by which he rated all other pizzas. By the time he was twelve, an old Doc at the local pharmacy hired him and before long, John was capable of running it single handed if needed. While working his many jobs, he still maintained a perfect school attendance with an 'A' in every subject while playing basketball and baseball. The day he turned sixteen, he walked into the Chevrolet dealer and bought a brand new 1959 Corvette with cash. John graduated from Des Moines Tech, after graduation, John attended Duke University which was overshadowed by an offer to play ball for the New York Yankees. He was in minor league spring training camp along with major league greats, Mickey Mantle, Billy Martin, Yogi Berra, and others. The desire to own his own business ended his baseball career and he bought his first Clark Super 100 gas station which led to owning a bulk oil plant in Ames, Iowa. His successful business and first marriage were adversely affected when President Johnson began drafting married men for the Vietnam War. He enlisted in the United States Army rather than being drafted and was stationed in Homestead, Florida at the Krome Ave Missile Site, then served in Korea as a Courier and for a few months as General Westmoreland's driver. He stayed in Homestead after his discharge from the Army working at the Homestead Holiday Inn. He met and married Linda Mitchell on Dec 13, 1970. Together, over the next eleven years, they had two daughters, Tonya and Tracy managed and bought several local motels and a bar called Carey's Corner Bar and the Manatee Seafood Market. Carey's Corner Bar, which had the oldest beer and wine license in Dade County, was built of Dade County Pine. The competition firebombed the bar and the Dade County Pine lived up to its reputation. All that burned was the Jukebox! In 1981, John sold all four businesses and moved to Sarasota County, Florida. He bought the Seafarer Beach Motel which he owned and operated for nineteen years, and their son Ryan joined the family. During that time, he also bought the Gulf Cove Country Store and fulfilled a childhood goal of owning a neighborhood store recalling his fond memories of Murray's and John Brook's stores in Des Moines. The Country Store soon had a post office and a deli. In 1986, he purchased the Days Inn in Port Charlotte, In November of 1991, he opened Johny's Diner . Incorporating some Des Moines flair to his establishment, it had a train running around the ceiling and served Millie's Tenderloins along with shoestring onion rings. Ever the entrepreneur, next came Sweet Scoops Ice Cream and a car wash that he built behind the store a Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express. John was preceded in death by his siblings Michael Grother, Shirley Bennett, Clifford Grother, and his parents Mary (Sullivan) and Clifford Grother, Sr. John is survived by his wife Linda of Northport, Florida; his daughter Tracy and Matthew Lehn and their children Brendon, Delaney, and Nathan of North Port, Florida; his daughter Tonya Grother and her children Tyler and Tori Beardsley of Englewood, Florida; and his son Ryan and Rachel Grother and their children Hailey, Lilah and Eli of Georgetown, Kentucky and his siblings Mary Duckworth, Rita Hemrick , David Grother . Interment with Military Honors will be held at Sarasota National Cemetery Friday June 11th, 2021 at 11:30 am