Frank John Peter Grasse

1949 - 2010

Frank John Peter Grasse, DVM was born May 27, 1949 in Cold Spring, NY, and died November 18, 2010 in Willits, CA. He was preceded in death by his parents, Peter and Dorothy Grasse, and his sister Patricia Miller. He is survived by his wife of thirty-three years, Frances, sister Pricilla Farrel, and many nieces and nephews.

After graduating from UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in 1974, Frank began his career at White Ivie Veterinary Hospital in San Bruno where he practiced for three years before he purchased East Hill Veterinary Clinic in Willits from Dr. Eric Davis in 1978. Frank's skill, together with his profound compassion for his patients and their people allowed the practice to evolve from a primarily livestock practice to a full service hospital for small animal pet patients.

Frank dedicated his life to helping people and animals. In loving memory of his dear friend and study partner from veterinary school, Frank founded the Ivan G. Pollock Memorial Scholarship at UC Davis. When he was not working at the clinic or mowing the surrounding fields, Frank loved to restore classic sports cars and drive out highway 20 to the coast for breakfast or to UC Davis for continuing education. Frank wrote stories about his experiences as a veterinarian as a means to decompress and express himself. Vet Tales, a collection of his stories, presents a poignant, amusing, and surprising view of life as a small town small animal veterinarian, and was written under the pseudonym Charlie Freed. He was at work on a second book at the time of his death.

Frank touched the lives of thousands of people, and while he did many extraordinary things, he will be most lovingly remembered as the veterinarian who was, for thirty two years, always available for his clients and their pets. A memorial celebration of Frank's life will be announced