John Thomas Grace

Beloved father John Grace has died peacefully at home on May 1, 2025, at the age of 91 after one month in hospice care. He was the devoted husband to Gisela for 54 years. He is survived by daughters Cristina Grace-Quarry and Suzanne Grace, son-in-law Gregory Quarry as well as his sister, Marianne McCann, a niece and five nephews.
John was a kind, positive, thoughtful and adventurous man who defined success and happiness for his life by love, family, friendship and integrity. Born in New York City on April 25, 1934, to Thomas and Marion Grace, he grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey with siblings Robert and Marianne. He completed a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (cum laude) at New York University in 1955 and a Master of Automotive Engineering from the Chrysler Institute in 1957 before starting work with Chrysler Corp in Detroit.
As a young man, John was inspired by new friendships to see the world and left his first job to explore Europe by bicycle. He learned German and landed a job with Ford of Germany, based in Cologne for 2½ years. Next, instead of returning stateside, Ford of Brazil offered him an exciting role to launch a new product line. In São Paulo, he met and married Gisela in October 1966. They moved to Michigan the following year and there had two daughters. In 1972, Ford of Argentina called him to Buenos Aires. His planned assignment was cut short by national unrest, and the family was forced to evacuate to Brazil before eventually returning to Michigan in 1974. John's career continued to develop as an international business executive: after seven more years with Ford in strategic planning he joined Bendix International in New York before relocating to North Carolina with ITT and making Raleigh home in 1983.
Maintaining close connection with dear friends and family was important to John. He and Gisela made several trips every year over five decades to spend quality time with loved ones all across the USA, in Brazil, Germany and the UK - and equally they enjoyed hosting visitors at home. A keen photographer, their travels and visits were extensively recorded, with memories shared as part of the annual Grace family Christmas letter he wrote for 57 years.
John had a clear ability to design, build, fix, organise and grow things – from rebuilding and maintaining the family homes, to crafting unique furniture, or taking pristine care of the lawn, trees and planting. A skilled general handyman, he took great pride in his full-service workshop and completed substantial house projects well into his early 80s. The move to Raleigh allowed him to fulfil the dream of designing their perfect home on a wooded lot in Stonebridge where they lived for 34 years. This endeavour sparked a passion for conservation, and he became involved in protecting the watershed in Wake County for over a decade, working as part of a dedicated group to fight detrimental re-zoning applications. When not working with his hands, John was exercising his body to maintain good health and his brain to manage their finances. He enjoyed investing, building spreadsheets and tracking data, and kept meticulous records of Everything.
However, John's greatest love was Gisela. One example is how he supported her passion for tennis, learning to play later in life and through tennis they made wonderful friends. Even after hanging up his own tennis racquet, he continued to support Gisela's busy tennis schedule, travelling to state-wide and national competitions as well as the NC senior games (where he competed separately in ping pong). As Gisela's Alzheimer's progressed, it was John's mission to get her weekly to the Raleigh Racquet club to play with an exceptional tennis pro, while he fulfilled his role as a dedicated ball boy.
John and Gisela moved to Cardinal at North Hills in 2017 – a special place that allowed him to care for his wife until her death in 2021 – as well as where wonderful neighbors, new friends and a supportive community enriched John's life in his last years as a widower.
As a long-time supporter of hospice, John would have wanted us to thank the Transitions LifeCare staff as well as his compassionate care givers, who made every effort to provide comfort and support his wish for death with dignity.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Transitions LifeCare Hospice at https://www.transitionslifecare.org/donate or Remote Area Medical https://www.ramusa.org/donate/
A Celebration of Life will be held from 2-4pm on Sunday, July 20, 2025, at the Cremation Society of the Carolinas, on 2205 E Millbrook Road, Raleigh, North Carolina. All are welcome to come along and share remembrances and love in memory of the very special person that was John Grace.