marr: Patricia Wetzel, Margaret Wall
[Obituary] Idaho Mountain Express - Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Roy W. Grice was born on April 27, 1922, in Hutchinson, Kan. He died on May 18, 2007, in Boise, Idaho. Bud's parents were Roy D. and Blanche Grice. After living only a few years in Hutchinson, he and his parents, along with his sister Betty, packed up and headed west, eventually settling in LaGrande, Ore.
It was during the Depression; life was hard, but the family survived. Bud graduated from LaGrande High School where he, as a student-body officer, ran on the school track team, and was a member of a state championship basketball team. After two years of college, and in the middle of World War II, Bud quit school and joined the Army Air Corps. He was accepted into flight school and was introduced to flying, which became one of his passions for the rest of his life. He became a fighter pilot in the Pacific. Near the end of the war he crashed a plane into the ocean and spent three days in a life raft before being rescued by a ship that just happened to be passing by.
After the war, Bud left the military, returned to LaGrande, and married his high school sweetheart, Patricia Wetzel. Soon after marrying Pat, he enlisted in the Air Force and made the military his career. During the next 20 years Bud and Pat traveled throughout the world and had three children, Pete, Connee, and Mike. Bud continued his flying and eventually achieved the rank of Lt. Colonel. At one point he was seriously considered for the U.S. Space Program.
After retiring from the Air Force in 1965, Bud moved the family to Ketchum, Idaho, where he was one of the original partners in the Tamarack Lodge. Civilian life was hard on the family, and after 22 years of marriage, Bud and Pat divorced, with Bud retaining custody of the two minor children and the family home in Sun Valley. Bud also returned to flying, first as an employee for Bud Newcomb out of Ketchum, and eventually starting his own charter service in Hailey.
In 1969, Bud started dating an old friend, Margaret Wall. In December 1969, he married Margaret and she became his love and confidant with whom he shared the rest of his life. In the late 1980s, Bud retired from flying, and in 2000 he and Margaret moved to Boise, where he lived until his death.
Bud was preceded in death by his parents, Roy D. and Blanche Grice of LaGrande, Ore.; his sister Betty Christensen of Gilbert; his first wife, Patricia Davies of Boise; and his son, Michael P. Grice of Ketchum, Idaho. Bud is survived by his wife, Margaret M. Grice of Boise; his son, Roy W. "Pete" Grice and his wife Beverly of Boise; his daughter, Connee Toothman and her husband, Jim, of Hailey; and Margaret's children, Craig Wall and his wife, Sandy, of Greenbank, Wash., Kay Hopwood of Phoenix, Ariz., and Cris Mink of Boise. He is also survived by two grandchildren, Justin Toothman and Brad Toothman, five step grandchildren, and three very special great-grandchildren. Memorial services will be held later this summer in Ketchum.
The family would also like to extend their undying gratitude to the staff at Emerson House in Garden City, Idaho. They helped the family a year ago when we were placed in a very difficult situation. The care and love they showed Bud during his last year of life will always be remembered. Special thanks also to XL Hospice who made Bud's last weeks more bearable, both physically and spiritually.