Fifth Generation

159. Gary LaVerne GRIGGS (*) (~) (+) (*+) was born on 8 December 1940 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.^36,44,97,286 He was born on the kitchen table in an apartment above Vlasak's Bowling Alley at 210 Superior Avenue. According to his birth announcement, he weighed 7 pounds and had "dark hair and dark eyes."

On February 23, 1941, he and his mother went to Milwaukee to join his father, who had gone there for work. He and his parents lived with one of his dad's cousins, Helen (Vandervort) Borchardt, and her husband, Art, at 1036 West Brown Deer Road until July 1941. They then lived in apartments at 719 South 34th Street and 620 North 26th Street in Milwaukee until his parents bought a home at 2240 South 55th Street in West Allis in July 1942. It was the family home until his parents moved back to Tomah in 1979.

After graduating from West Allis Central High School in June 1958, he attended the University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee for one semester. He then joined the Air Force in February 1959 and went through 6 weeks of Basic Training at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, TX, followed by six months of tech school at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, MS. During seven and one-half years in the Air Force, he was next stationed at Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage, Alaska (October 1959-October 1961); North East Cape Air Force Station, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska (October 1961-May 1963); the National Security Agency (NSA) at Fort Meade, MD (May 1963-September 1963), and in Darmstadt, Germany (September 1963-August 1966).

During his 7 1/2 years in the military, he served as a member of the U.S. Air Force Security Service (USAFSS), which was involved with communications intelligence gathering and analysis operations around the world. He was proficient in Morse Code and voice communications.

He met his wife, Barbara, while he was stationed at Fort Meade. They met on July 11, 1963, were married on September 7th, and were then stationed in Germany for three years. Their daughter Jennifer was born there in March 1965.

In August 1966 he was discharged from the Air Force and returned to UWM, where he received a BBA degree in Accounting in 1969. Their daughter Allison was born in July 1968 while they lived at 1616 East Iron Street in Bay View, a suburb of Milwaukee.

In June 1969, he was recruited by Uniroyal, Inc. as an Internal Auditor on the company's Corporate Audit Staff and was based in Allen Park, MI, a suburb of Detroit. He served on the Audit Staff for three years and then accepted a position at the company's Tire Division headquarters in Detroit, serving in several division accounting positions. He was promoted to Assistant Controller at Uniroyal's Tire Plant at the same location in May 1975.

When the family first moved to the Detroit area, they lived in a rented town house in Taylor (15928 Scott Drive), and their daughter Stephanie was born in August 1969 while they lived there. They bought their first home in June 1970 in Southgate (12770 Commonwealth Avenue), and their son Jon was born while they lived there, in July 1972.

In June 1976, after receiving a Masters in Business Administration degree from Michigan State University, he and his family moved to Eau Claire, WI, where he was the Assistant Controller and then Controller at another of Uniroyal's tire plants. In August 1980, he was transferred to their Opelika, AL, tire plant, where he also served as Controller. In May 1983, he was promoted to Division Controller for Uniroyal's Industrial/Textile Division, based in Winnsboro, SC. His family then lived in Columbia, SC (216 Brookspring Road) from 1983 until 1999.

In 1986, Uniroyal sold its operations in South Carolina, and Gary left the company to join Fortune Personnel Consultants, a nationwide executive search firm, at its largest office, in Columbia, SC. He served as an Executive Recruiter and as Director of Finance and Administration for the firm. He worked for Fortune for ten years until August 1996, when he left to start his own executive search firm, Career Concepts Group.

In February 1999, Barbara and Gary moved to Pawleys Plantation (117-3 Whitetail Way) in Pawleys Island, SC. He continued to run his business from his home there until he retired in 2006.

In January 2016, he was asked to serve as the Accountant for The Dieter Company, a property management and real estate firm, where his wife, Barbara and son, Jon, were real estate agents, and he worked there until June 2019, when he again retired.

While their children were young, Gary was very active in their children's school and church activities. He also enjoyed boating and camping with them. After they had grown, he enjoyed playing golf, with special highlights being a golf vacation in Scotland in July 1998 (where he scored an 87 while playing the Old Course at St. Andrews), playing in the Mercedes Golf Championships tournament in Hawaii in January 2000, and taking a golf vacation in Ireland in July 2001 (where he scored an 84 at The Tralee Golf Club). His other hobbies were personal computers, genealogy, and spectator sports.

Between 1999 and 2015, he and Barbara were active in St. Peter's Lutheran Church, where he served as president of the Congregation for two years, as Financial Secretary and chairman of the Finance Committee for thirteen years, and in other church organizations. He also served as a Pastoral Assistant for church services.

In Pawleys Island, he was active at various times as vice-chairman of the Board of Directors of the Coastal South Carolina Chapter of the American Red Cross, as a volunteer with the Georgetown County Chapter of Habitat for Humanity, as president of the Pawleys Glen II Homeowners Association, as vice-president and treasurer of the Pawleys Plantation Property Owners Association, and as treasurer of the Pawleys Island Highway Beautification Program.

Beginning in August 2015, he and Barbara were members of Amazing Grace Lutheran Church in Carolina Forest, a suburb of Myrtle Beach, where he served as the Treasurer of the PreSchool. In June 2022, he and Barbara moved to a one-story home in Murrells Inlet (202 Sugar Loaf Lane) so that they could be closer to their church. He was baptized on 25 December 1940 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.^36,135 at the home of his grandmother, Ms. Lydia Pergande, by Rev. Herbert Schaller of St. Paul's Lutheran Church. His sponsors were Mrs. Lydia Pergande and an uncle, Fred Vandervort. He appeared in the census on 4 April 1950 in West Allis, Milwaukee County, WI.²³³ Gary was confirmed on 16 May 1954 in West Allis, Milwaukee County, WI.^136,287 at Nain Evangelical Lutheran Church. He graduated in June 1969 in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, WI.⁴⁴ from the University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee with a BBA Degree in Accounting. He graduated in June 1976 in East Lansing, Ingham County, MI.⁴⁴ from Michigan State University with an MBA Degree from the Advanced Management Program.
Gary has Ancestral File Number LDCS-XZ5.⁴⁴

Gary LaVerne GRIGGS (*) (~) (+) (*+) and Barbara Sharon Lee SERP (^) were married on 7 September 1963 in Glen Burnie, Anne Arundel County, MD.²⁸⁸ at St. Paul's Lutheran Church by Rev. Paul Dannenfeldt. Her Maid of Honor was Norma Lynham and her Bridesmaid was LuAnn Griggs. His best man was Clayton Cooper and his ushers were Jack Serp, Donald Graney and Raymond Laaska.

Barbara and Gary met at the Ameche's Restaurant in Glen Burnie on Thursday, July 11, 1963. They dated for two months, and Gary took Barb to meet many of his family members at the Griggs Family Reunion in Madison, Wisconsin, on September 1st, a week before their marriage.

In October 1988, when they and their children were in Glen Burnie to attend the funeral of Barbara's father, they visited St. Paul's and had a family picture taken with Rev. Dannenfeldt to commemorate their 25th Wedding Anniversary.

On September 7, 2013, they celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary with family and friends at Heritage Plantation in Pawleys Island. They also renewed their marriage vows, with the ceremony performed on the beach by Rev. David Lyle, their pastor at St. Peter's Lutheran Church, and Rev. (retired) Norman Nuding, a good friend who is now deceased. Barbara Sharon Lee SERP (^), daughter of John Joseph SERP and Katherine Mary KUTCHER, was born on 10 December 1943 in Baltimore (City), MD.^286,289,290 According to her Birth Certificate, she was born at Baltimore General Hospital (now MedStar Harbor Hospital) in the Cherry Hill section of Baltimore at 4:30 pm.

She, her parents and her brother lived at 1649 Ceddox Street in the Curtis Bay section of Baltimore. She and her family later lived at 1415 Cherry Street and then at 4916 Pennington Avenue in Curtis Bay. She attended the #208 grade school.

When she was thirteen years old, her family moved to Glen Burnie, MD, where they lived at 239 St. James Drive. She was baptized on 2 January 1944 in Baltimore (City), MD.^44,289,291 at St. Adalbert Catholic Church, 4708 Prudence Street, Baltimore. Her sponsors were Norman Serp (a younger brother of her father) and Barbara (Serp) Shade (a younger sister of her father), for whom she was named. She appeared in the census on 15 April 1950 in Curtis Bay, Baltimore County, MD.²⁹² Barbara received first communion on 20 May 1951 in Curtis Bay, Baltimore County, MD.²⁹¹ at St. Athanasius Catholic Church. She was confirmed on 22 May 1955 in Curtis Bay, Baltimore County, MD.²⁹¹ at St. Athanasius Catholic Church. She graduated in June 1962 in Glen Burnie, Anne Arundel County, MD.⁴⁴ from Glen Burnie High School. She then attended Baltimore Business College for one year.

After her marriage in September 1963, she moved to Germany, where her husband, Gary, was stationed in the Air Force. Their first home there was an apartment (5 Daniel-Muller Strasse) in Greisheim, a few miles west of Darmstadt. They later lived for 2 1/2 years in the Lincoln Village housing area near the Ernst-Ludwig Kaserne in Darmstadt.

Barbara was very active in the Protestant Women of the Chapel, served as a volunteer in the Air Force wives' Family Services Organization, and worked part-time in the school library. Their first daughter, Jennifer, was born while they were in Germany. While in Europe, Barbara was able to travel to Holland, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Austria, and Berlin, East Germany, and she enjoyed frequent day-trip picnics on the Rhine River.

In August 1966, they returned to Wisconsin, where Barbara helped put Gary through college by working as the Office Manager for an Arlan's Department Store in Milwaukee. In addition to doing the bookkeeping for that store, she traveled to Atlanta and Rockford, IL, to help the company open new stores. Their daughter Allison was born while they lived in Bay View (1616 East Iron Street), a suburb of Milwaukee.

In 1969, they moved to the Detroit area, where they lived until 1976. Their daughter Stephanie and their son, Jon, were born while they lived there. They first lived in Taylor and then bought their first home, in the Old Homestead section (12770 Commonwealth) of Southgate, in 1970. Barbara was very active in the children's school, Christ The King Lutheran school, as well as their other activities.

In 1976, they moved to Eau Claire, WI, where she was again very active in their church school at Epiphany Lutheran. She also worked part time at the Eau Claire County Court House for the Clerk of Court and she took some classes at the University of Wisconsin--Eau Claire.

In 1980, they moved to Auburn, AL, where she became active in their church, Trinity Lutheran, and she began her career in real estate sales at Henderson Realty in October 1982.

In May 1983, they moved to Columbia, SC, and Barbara continued her career in real estate by working for Bob Capes Realty for ten years. In 1993, she was recruited to Re/Max Midlands Realty. She was consistently one of the highest-producing real estate agents in Columbia, and was very active in the Board of Realtors' activities. She was also an active member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.

In February 1999, they moved to a townhouse in Pawleys Plantation in Pawleys Island, SC and she continued her real estate career at Coldwell Banker Chicora Real Estate. In October 2002, she joined Re/Max By The Sea Realty. She served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Coastal Carolina Association of Realtors, and was selected for the Realtor Image Award in October 2004.

In October 2005, she and her son Jon formed "The Griggs Team" at Re/Max and were very successful Realtors in the Pawleys Island area. In January 2007, she was selected to the Re/Max International Hall of Fame. In December 2008, Barbara and Jon moved "The Griggs Team" to The Dieter Company in Pawleys Island. In October 2022, she celebrated her 40th Anniversary in Real Estate.

Between 1999 and 2015, she was very active at St. Peter's Lutheran Church, serving on the Congregation Council, assisting in the Day School, and serving and in several other organizations. In August 2015, she and Gary became members of Amazing Grace Lutheran Church in the Carolina Forest area of Myrtle Beach.

Barbara's prime interests have been the lives of their four children, their nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, and her late brother Jack's family in the Baltimore area. She loves to travel, with highlights having been trips throughout Europe, and vacations in the Bahamas, Bermuda, Cancun, Key West, New York City, New Orleans, Hawaii, Canada, and the states in the Western and New England areas of the continental U.S.

In March 2007, she performed one of her duties of a Notary Public and performed a marriage ceremony. She performed additional ceremonies in September 2012 and October 2013.

In May 2007, she and her three daughters traveled to New York City to celebrate the Mother's Day weekend by touring the city and the New York harbor, visiting Ground Zero, attending The Today Show, shopping, eating at Ciro's theater, and attending the Broadway play, "Chicago."

In May 2008, she returned to New York City to help her daughter Allison search for an apartment in advance of Ali moving there the following month for her new career. While there, they attended the play "Mamma Mia." In May 2011 she returned for another visit and attended the play, "Jersey Boys." She had subsequent frequent Mothers Day and Thanksgiving trips to New York City to visit her daughter Allison and see the sights.

In April 2019, she traveled to Italy with three friends and Allison. In September 2019, she and Gary took a 5-week vacation, driving 8,650 miles through eighteen states in the Central and Western U.S. They took a similar trip in September 2020, with a side trip to Seattle to see one of Gary's cousins. In August 2023, they toured the provinces of eastern Canada, Prince Edward Island, and the New England states.

In May 2022, Barbara suffered a break of the femur bone in her left leg when she fell on the beach at Pawleys Island. After surgery on May 11th, she spent a week at Waccamaw Hospital, followed by three weeks of rehab at National Health Care. In June 2022, she and Gary moved to a one-story home in Murrells Inlet. She returned to her work in "The Griggs Team" in August.

She loves to keep in touch with family members and the many, many friends that she has made wherever she has lived or traveled.

(Her name is listed on her birth certificate as Barbara Sharon Serp.)

Gary LaVerne GRIGGS (*) (~) (+) (*+) and Barbara Sharon Lee SERP (^) had the following children: