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Lois Ann Grate
Lois Grate
Posted
Lois Ann Grate, (Mrs. G), 93, of Fountain Hills passed away peacefully on Jan. 17, 2020 surrounded by her family.
Lois was born on April 1, 1926 to Harold G. and Carrie Viola Myers. Lois attended Alliance High School where she was a cheerleader and graduated in January 1944. She then married the love of her life, Floyd William Grate, April 8, 1945 when he returned from WWII.
She and Bill owned United Cleaning Service in Alliance, Ohio, prior to moving to Arizona in 1959. In 1963 they opened Mr. G’s Interiors in Scottsdale and later added stores in Tempe and Mesa, and in 1973 they opened the Fountain Hills location. They retired March 15, 2005 and were known throughout the Valley as Mr. and Mrs. G.
Lois and Bill joined other local businesses to establish the Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce. Shortly after, Lois volunteered to become an Ambassador. Lois served on the board of the Chamber as its treasurer. She accepted leadership roles with the Ambassadors and remained active for nearly 40 years. Lois was presented the lifetime business achievement award in 2016.
She was an avid tennis player and loved to travel the world but was a daredevil at heart, which went as far as fighting a bull in Mexico, jumping out of an airplane alone and sitting on an alligator in Florida.
She loved spending time with her family. She was dearly loved and will be deeply missed.
Lois is preceded in death by her parents, Harold and Carrie Myers; her sister, Jeanne Israel; her brother, Harold (Buddy) Myers and husband, Floyd William Grate.
She is survived by her daughters, Vicki (Jim) Boyd, Judy (Dana) Thompson, Soozy (Jeff) Wickman; seven grandchildren, Kimberly (Karl) Kuo, Kari (Todd) Sumney, Temujin (Anabell) Thompson, Tatum (Steve) Wright, Nicholas (Tammy) Thompson, Ashley (Micah) Anders, Heather (Justin) Trollope; 15 great grandchildren, Brandon Sumney, Jacob Sumney, Kyle Kuo, Kelby Kuo, Tyler Anders, Deegan Trollope, Caden Wright, Landon Trollope, Robin Thompson, Alyssa Wright, Bridget Thompson, Bennett Anders, Brandt Thompson, Scarlett Trollope and Navy Anders.
A celebration of life will be held at Messinger Mortuary in Fountain Hills on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020 at 1 p.m.
Donations may be sent to Savior Hospice and Palliative Care, 4530 E. Shea Blvd. Unit 160, Phoenix, AZ 85028, or saviorhospice.com, 480-320-4733, in memory of Lois Ann Grate.
