3-12-1938 to 1-4-2019
Ralph Frederick Griswold, Jr. passed away January 4, 2019, at his beloved Eagle Tower Ranch in Carmen, ID.
He was the ultimate optimist. While other people look at a glass and see it as half empty or half full, Fred would look at the same glass and start planning how to contain the overflow. Brilliant, mercurial and inspirational, he was always fully engaged in whatever circumstance he was involved in.
Born March 12, 1938, his early years were spent on a ranch in Yuma and his school years in San Diego’s East County. After high school, he served as a submariner aboard the U.S.S. Segundo. Shortly after his discharge, he married Marilyn Azevedo, with whom he had two daughters. He held a variety of jobs during this time and finally found his calling in the newly emerging computer software field.
Fred and Marilyn divorced in 1969 and in 1970, he married Mary (ME) Gregg. They bought a home in San Diego County but longed for a less populous place – which they finally found on a heavily wooded property in Victor, Montana. In 1976, they moved there full-time and Fred started building his dream home.
Computer jobs were plentiful but not in western Montana. Telecommuting didn’t exist in the pre-Internet era, so Fred embarked on his “white collar migrant” years – keeping Victor as “home base” while going to wherever the work was. Between jobs, he continued working on the house.
Fred retired in 1990 and concentrated on making improvements to his Montana property. But once again he felt the need for more space and after a fairly exhaustive search, finally found his ‘forever’ ranch in Carmen in 2002.
His final years were spent whittling away at his infinite list of property improvements and following his lifelong pursuits of photography, astronomy and computer technology.
He was preceded in death by his brother David. He is survived by his wife Mary; his daughters Debbie Griswold and Cyndi Mercogliano; six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
A commemoration of his life will be held in the spring.