James Grisell

If there is one description to accurately characterize James, it is that he was very easy-going. He was a loving husband, an attentive and caring father, and generally a person who you could always count on when you needed him.

Born in Portland, Indiana on August 25, 1923, James spent his early childhood during the prosperity of the roaring '20s and his teenage years during the tribulations of Great Depression and Second World War. At the age of 12, James' father passed away, and his mother Flora took sole care of him and his two older sisters, Judy and Mary. They lived in Greenfield, Indiana throughout his entire schooling, and in the summers, James earned money for himself at the local swimming pool, where he worked as a lifeguard.

After James graduated high school, he attended Wayne University in Detroit, where he lived with his aunt and uncle, Ivie and Hobart Grisell. James did very well in school. He was smart and creative, and he had the patience and determination to succeed in academic areas that did not come as readily to him. Yet after a single year of college, the Second World War broke in on his acamedics, and he was drafted into the air force. He served his time in the Pacific, where he loaded bombs into planes. In his spare time, he carved a whole chess set out of the wood from the bomb crates.

After he was discharged from the service, he returned to Wayne University on the GI Bill. Here he met a young lady by the name of Helen Pogorzelski in an economics class. In 1947, they began to date and a short time later, on January 29, 1948, they married at the Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church. The happy couple lived in Detroit, where James worked as a clinical psychologist for the state of Michigan in the Lafayette Clinic. He became the head of the computing lab, and he co-authored the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), which is somewhat in use today. One of his proudest days was when he recieved his Ph.D. in psychology from Wayne in 1957.

He and Helen had two children together in Detroit, Christine "Chris" and Paula. James was always very family oriented, especially around the holidays. He was very outgoing, and he made friends easily. It didn't take him long to get to know all of his neighbors, and he often talked with friends and family about politics and current events. He also enjoyed the company of a four-legged family member, his cat Spooky who lived for nineteen years. James always liked things to be done correctly, and he had the patience and determination to not make perfectionism a virtue. He once painted a room three times in order to regain the old color, since the new paint wasn't quite right.

The chess set that James designed in his free time during the war only marked the beginning of his hobbies. He liked to make knives with wooden handles and inlay brass, and model planes out of balsa wood. He also learned to make black powder guns. James enjoyed hunting trips with his son-in-law Jack. They would deer hunt using only a bow and arrow. With his knowledge of woodworking, he was able to refinish his basement.

James would relax by listening to Wagner opera music. He enjoyed attending high school reunions. He loved to play bridge. You could find him playing at work, on his breaks, and every Monday and Wednesday with different groups around the area.

James died on Monday, June 28, 2004. He is survived by Helen, his loving wife of 56 years and his children Chris (Jack) Livingston and Paula (Mike) Grisell-Goldstein. He was the proud grandfather of Joel, Ian, Erika and Molly, and the brother of Mary Wilson. Visitation Wednesday 2-4 and 6-9pm. Funeral service from McCabe Funeral Home 31950 W. 12 Mile Rd. Farmington Hills. Please visit James' personal memory page at www.lifestorynet.com where you can read his life story, share a memory, order flowers and make a memorial contribution on line.