Roger Gratwick, age 81, passed away on September 10, 2014. A retired insurance agent and former banker, Roger was also an avid tennis player. He helped found the Decatur Tennis Association shortly after moving to Decatur in 1967 to work for State National Bank.
Roger was born October 31, 1932, and raised in East Aurora, NY. His parents, Roger W. Gratwick and Sarah Hutchinson Baker, were both Buffalo natives. Roger graduated from The Nichols School in Buffalo, NY in 1951, and from Harvard University in 1955. After joining the ROTC in college, Roger served as a lieutenant in the Army and was stationed at Fort Stewart outside of Savannah, GA. It was there that he met Ann Nussbaum (deceased 1986), whom he married in 1958. They have three surviving children, R. Weare Gratwick III (Amber), Peachtree Corners, GA, John Hutchinson MacFarlane Gratwick (Melinda), Hattiesburg, MS and Joseph (Jay) Arnold Gratwick (Cappy), Marietta, GA.
Following an honorable discharge from the Army in 1958, Roger began his career at M&T Bank in Buffalo before moving first to Winchester, KY in 1965, then settling and raising his children in Decatur. Roger left the banking business in 1973 to become a Mutual Benefit Life Insurance agent.
Roger met Priscilla Childs in 1993, and she remained his loving life partner until his recent passing. He was an active member of First United Methodist Church of Decatur where he enjoyed singing in the choir. Roger was also a member of the Decatur Rotary Club and was honored as a Paul Harris Fellow in 2012. In addition to his passion for tennis, Roger enjoyed bird hunting, a good book and spending time with his seven grandchildren.
In addition to his three sons and Priscilla, Roger is survived by a brother, Mitchell Gratwick II. His body will come to final rest in Olivet Cemetery in Covington, NY near the family farmland acquired by Roger’s grandfather in 1910.
A Memorial Service for family and friends will be held on September 26, 2014, at 2 p,m. at the First United Methodist Church in Decatur.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Roger Gratwick to the National Parkinson’s Foundation, PO Box 5018 Hagerstown, MD 21741-5018.
