January 31, 1945 to February 20, 2023
Jeff Grainger aged 78 of Tucson, Arizona, passed away suddenly on February 20, 2023, in San Diego, California. Jeff was preceded in death by his parents Harry & Kay Grainger; and his dear niece, Georgina Gorman (Bowden).
He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Pat; his much loved daughters, Maria (John) and Katy (Mike); his 2 grandchildren, Linc and Creo of whom he was so very proud; brother, Martin Grainger; and sister, Sue Bowden.
Jeff loved being a parent and liked nothing better than an evening playing with his girls, especially those long summer evenings. He probably complained more than the girls when bedtime was announced. Before bed, though, were the many World War II re-enactments in the bathtub, complete with boats and planes and lots of water on the floor.
For the past 25 years Jeff ran his own business refurbishing, servicing and maintaining laser machine tools. He started his career in the Laser Industry in 1974, when he was hired by JK Lasers Inc. in Rugby, England. Through his business Jeff met many other small business owners and many became life long friends.
Jeff loved to mend things and he also loved people. If you had something that was broken, he would happily mend it for you, but would probably keep you chatting while doing the repair. His girls were always helping by bringing home their friend’s broken toys. Unfortunately, he tended to be a little untidy and often left tools out- you cannot imagine the havoc a 4-year old can wreak with a couple of found screw drivers, but he did find out.
Jeff also loved to travel. Over the years he and Pat had the privilege of visiting many parts of the world, as well as many trips back to England to visit family; especially visits to Millers Ark, a therapeutic farm in the south of England run by his cousins. He loved especially visiting for Christmas festivities and taking part in their live nativities-he loved being king for an hour.
He loved birds, all kinds of birds, but especially hummingbirds and spent many hours cleaning and refilling his many hummingbird feeders to attract hummingbirds to the garden. He and Pat spent many early morning and evening hours watching them come to feed. They became quite tame and would sit on his arm or his head.
Jeff was also a supporter of Broadway in Tucson and the Tucson Symphony Orchestra which led to many enjoyable date nights with his wife.
A Celebration of Life will be held for Jeff at Newburg United Methodist Church, 36500 Ann Arbor Trail, Livonia, MI 48150, on Saturday, April 29th. Visitation will begin at 10:30 and the service at 11 am. All are welcome to join us for a luncheon at the church following the ceremony, where we will continue to celebrate Jeff’s extraordinary life.
A second Celebration of Life will be held Wednesday, June 28, 3:00 p.m. at Millers Ark Farm, Blackstocks Ln., Hook G27 9PH, United Kingdom.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Miller’s Ark. Go Fund Me link here. You can find more information about this amazing farm that Jeff was so passionate about at their website: https://millersark.co.uk/. They are currently raising funds to add two very special horses to the farm.
In case you cannot attend, click here to watch the livestream of his Celebration of Life.
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