Obituary of Paul Grattet

Paul died very peacefully at home about 2 a.m. on August 18just shortly after his 74th birthday on August 16. Children andgrandchildren had been with him during his final days. Paul was diagnosed in 2006 with Inclusion Body Myositis, a rare muscle disease and then in 2009 he was diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia, another rare disease. Both diseases caused overwhelming fatigue. Despite all his challenges, he never complained. I once asked Paul if it didn’t make him angry to have the problems caused by Myositis. His reply was, “I don’t get angry.” Discussing the comment later with our sons and daughters, they agreed… “We’ve never seen Dad get angry.” Some of the best years of his career were in Vancouver, WA. He had an excellent city council and manyoutstanding people working with him. Paul was in the final interview for City Manager on May 18, 1980 just as Mt. St. Helen was erupting. We were able to observe the eruption in the distance. During his Vancouvertenure, Kyocera moved a plant to Vancouver. Vancouver celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Chkalof landing at Ft. Vancouver Military airfield. Paul, a student of Russian history, was thrilled to be part of a group of officials and local people who traveled to Russia for the celebration. The Officers Row renovation project idea developed and began. Vancouver hosted the prestigious Nihonga Japanese art exhibit and Paul came up with the idea for the Marshall Lecture series which continues today more than 20 years later. General George Marshall was commander at Fort Vancouver Barracks when the Chkalof plane landed. Paul always saw the good in people. He went into City Government because of his commitment to make the community a better place. The same commitment drew him to be on the boards of community organizations. He was one of most honest men in the world. For example, Paul would not make a single personal copy using the city’s copy machine. Until his last four years Paul was an avid reader of non-fiction. He loved music and for the past year enjoyed an On-Demand music channel that plays easy listening music with beautiful scenes and notes on the piece being played. He’d listen to the channel all day. Paul and I were fortunate to make many lasting friendshipsin the three cities where he worked. Ihave saved email comments so many of you have sent during Paul’s illness that attests to what a good person he was and how they were helped by his guidance. For persons wishing to make memorial contributions, here are two suggestions: www.thedenverhospice.org or www.myositis.org Denver Hospice, 501 South Cherry St. Ste 700, Denver, CO 80246. On Friday, October 1, 2010 we will have a small privateceremony at Fort Logan National Cemetery, followed by a Memorial Open House Reception from 4pm -6pm at our condo. Please let us know if you can join our family in remembering. Jean Please RSVP by email to Jean or to this website.