Mr. Richard E. Grossman

1932 - 2012

Richard E. Grossman left this world to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on the evening of August 2, 2012. With his family at his side during his last week of life, his body gave out after a valiant battle with cancer, less than two weeks after he turned 80 years old. Dick was born in Porterville, CA, in 1932. After high school he joined the Air Force where he trained to be a mechanic, but his lifelong career would be in law enforcement as a police sergeant in Porterville, a police captain on Kwajalein Island in the South Pacific, and then with the Visalia, CA, police department where he retired in 1992 after 32 total years on the force as a highly respected Senior Agent responsible for forgery and fraud investigations. In 1979, Dick married the love of his life, Judy.
While living in Visalia, Dick and Judy attended Calvary Chapel. In 2003 they relocated to North Bend, OR, and attended the Bay Area Nazarene Church where Dick served as a greeter, was on the church board and was a trustee chairman. Woodworking, boating and traveling were his passions over the years, but he invested much of his retirement on family research and genealogy. He was a witty, silly, loving, devoted husband and father, a strong yet gentle giant with a warm heart that made strangers feel as if they had known him for years. Dick is survived by his wife, Judy; son Kevin from Santa Cruz, CA; daughter Kristen from Visalia, CA; daughter Michelle from Tulare, CA; daughter Stephanie from Merced, CA; daughter Simon from Eureka, CA; sister Elizabeth from Fresno, CA; sister Patty from Porterville, CA; grandchildren Celeste, Nicholas, Tomi, Richard, Shaunda, Bethany, Beatrice and Bryce; three great-grandchildren and other nephews, nieces and cousins. We will miss you every day but you will forever be with us. We will always love you. A memorial service for Dick will be held on Tuesday, August 14, 2012, at 1:00 p.m. at Bay Area Nazarene Church in North Bend, OR. A second memorial service and reception celebrating Dick's life will be held on on Saturday, August 25, 2012, at 10:30 a.m. at Calvary Chapel in Visalia, CA. In lieu of flowers, please send donations in Richard E. Grossman's name to the Bay Area Nazarene Church, 1850 Clark, North Bend, OR 97459.