John Christopher Grigassy

John Christopher "Chris" Grigassy left his physical body on Friday, April 25 at 12:08 pm at Hospice Austin Christopher House, with his loving family by his side. In October, Chris was diagnosed with Stage 4 Merkel Cell Carcinoma and chose to spend his last days privately, focusing on peace, joy, and living in the present moment. At the end, he achieved his final goal of passing quickly and comfortably, knowing he is eternal and preparing to be greeted on the other side by loved ones. (That he died on what would have been his mother's birthday was especially sweet because he knew she'd be waiting for him with open arms.)
Chris was born to Eugene Paul and Olga Stuart Grigassy in Houston, Texas on August 14, 1944. He attended St. Peter the Apostle Elementary, Cullen Junior High, and San Jacinto High School in Houston. He graduated from Rice University in 1966 with a BA in political science, followed by an MA in political science from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
In 1968, while the Vietnam War was raging and thousands of young men were being drafted, Chris applied for and was accepted into the Foreign Service of the US Department of State. He served as a diplomatic attaché in Tokyo where his son Edward was born. (One of his coolest assignments was accompanying the Apollo 11 astronauts in the city when they toured the world after the first moon landing.)
During a leave of absence, Chris began a doctoral program at UT Austin but returned to the State Department in 1972. He studied Spanish and was offered a posting with the Consular Service in Mexico. However, with memories of the Kent State massacre and of his previous work reviewing and reporting on military and civilian bombing casualty statistics in Vietnam, Chris chose to leave the State Department. Instead, he worked on the George McGovern presidential campaign in Austin and became a lifelong anti-war advocate.
Throughout his life, Chris had a variety of careers, mostly focused on service, spirituality, and creativity. He worked at or with Caritas of Austin, the Austin/Travis County Health Department, Consumer Credit Counseling, the Dispute Resolution Center, New Texas Magazine, The Cosmic Cabaret, Bridger Productions, Grigadean Productions, and the Human Potential Center. He also created a classic car restoration business, a life coaching business, and a home rental business.
Chris was well known for being friendly, kind, gentle, and outspokenly grateful, always saying "thank you" out loud for every good thing. He would sing a song in the morning, no matter how he felt: "It's Gonna Be a Great Day!" When his mobility was compromised, he sat in a chair outside his house most mornings and some afternoons, enjoying the sunshine and greeting neighbors on their daily walks.
Chris loved live music, nature, the beach, swimming in Little Stacy and Barton Springs pools and Jacob's Well, supporting local art and artists, politics (though he never pushed his politics on anyone else), and the Houston Astros.
He is predeceased by his parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. (He was also predeceased by his cousin Gretchen Grigassy of Pittsburgh, PA, by one hour!) He is survived by his son Edward Patrick Grigassy and his wife Thao Nguyen Hoang Nguyen; brother Dennis Edward Grigassy and wife Nancy; sisters Mary Grigassy Bearden, Patricia Rose Grigadean and partner Bob Conevery, and Joan Grigassy Dentler and partner Barry Coston; former wives Val Liveoak and Paloma Kennedy; best friend and "bro" of many years Jerry "Jabo" Dean; numerous cousins, nieces and nephews, as well as the Riverside Farms Road community, the Human Potential Center community, the Hippie Church and Sunday Gospel Brunch communities, and a vast and very diverse group of friends.
Thanks to Thomas Alexander, Jim Saltus, Mark Sebly, and A.J. Foulois for their help to Chris, especially during the last few months, and to Hospice Austin and Christopher House for the loving care they gave Chris and his family during the final stage of his remarkable life.
Plans for a celebration of Chris's life are pending.
At Chris's request, if anyone wants to honor his memory, donations can be made to The Guitar Initiative, Inc., a Houston-based non-profit which, among other things, organizes and hosts an annual Summer Guitar Conservatory day camp that is free for school-aged students. Chris was extremely proud of his son Edward's work as co-founder, board member, and teacher, and he was a huge supporter of the organization's goal of connecting people through the power of music by providing guitar education opportunities for students and underserved populations. https://www.guitarinitiative.org/home
Please feel free to post comments by selecting the Memory Wall. Our family would love to hear what Chris meant to you.