Floyd A. Grolle

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Floyd A. Grolle

82, of Los Altos died peacefully early Tuesday, April 11, at home surrounded by his sons. He had been battling progressive cerebral vascular disease for several years.Dr. Grolle, who earned a PhD in Pharmacy from the University of Michigan, was born on his family's farm in Perrysburg, Ohio. Growing up on the farm during the depression taught Floyd the important lessons of hard work and self-subsistence. He cared for his cancer-stricken father during his father's final years, after which time the farm passed into the capable hands of his older brother Earl, allowing Floyd to pursue higher education. He studied Chemistry and Pharmacy at the University of Toledo, and upon graduation, Floyd pursued graduate degrees in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He married Barbara Schumm in 1950. They were married 54 years prior to Barbara's death in 2004. While working as an executive for various pharmaceutical companies, Floyd & his family moved from Ann Arbor to Kalamazoo, Michigan, to New Jersey, to Illinois, and finally to Los Altos, arriving in December, 1970. He eventually joined Stanford University and worked there in various capacities for 25 years, with the bulk of his time spent in the Office of Technology Licensing providing his expertise in licensing the Stanford-UCSF Cohen-Boyers Recombinant DNA patent to biotechnology & pharmaceutical companies. Floyd retired from Stanford in 1999. Floyd will always be remembered for his custom carpentry & handyman talents, a farmer's common sense, family devotion, humility and sense of humor. Years spent behind the wheel of a tractor in the hot Ohio sun prompted him to coin or perpetuate numerous phrases, which various family members find themselves using, such as "Just another day to excel at my job!" Floyd will sorely be missed and live on in the memories of his family, friends, beneficiaries of his volunteer efforts, and the countless recipients of his creative woodcrafts. Floyd is survived by his four sons, David of Los Altos, Kenneth (Jay) of Mountain View, Timothy (Lucy) of Sunnyvale, and Frederick (Margaret) of Sonora; five granddaughters (Erin, Dana, April, Lenore & Lizzie) and three grandsons (Matthew, Michael & Steven).A Funeral Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 19, at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 1075 El Monte Ave in Mountain View. Interment will be at Alta Mesa Memorial Park Cemetery in Palo Alto. Memorial contributions can be made to The Parkinsons Institute, 1170 Morse Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1605 or St. Paul Lutheran Church, 1075 El Monte Ave., Mountain View, CA, 94040. Spangler Mortuary of Los Altos is assisting the family.