Wayne R. Grisham Explained

Wayne R. Grisham
Birth Name:Wayne Richard Grisham
Birth Date:10 January 1923
Birth Place:Lamar, Colorado, U.S.
Death Place:La Mirada, California, U.S.
Residence:La Mirada, California, U.S.
State Assembly:California
District:63rd
Term:December 3, 1984 - November 30, 1988
Preceded:Bruce E. Young
Succeeded:Bob Epple
State1:California
District1:33rd
Term Start1:January 3, 1979
Term End1:January 3, 1983
Predecessor1:Del M. Clawson
Successor1:David Dreier
Office2:Member of La Mirada City Council
Term2:1970 - 1978
Office3:Mayor of La Mirada, California
Term3:1973 - 1974
Term4:1977 - 1978
Party:Republican
Alma Mater:Long Beach City College (A.A.)
Whittier College (B.A.)
University of Southern California
Occupation:teacher, businessman
Branch:United States Army Air Forces
Serviceyears:1942-1946

Wayne Richard Grisham (January 10, 1923 – January 19, 2011) was a two-term member of the United States House of Representatives from California from 1979 to 1983.[1]

Biography

Born in Lamar, Colorado, Grisham graduated from Jordan High School in Long Beach, California in 1940. He was a fighter pilot in the United States Army Air Forces stationed in the European theater of World War II from 1942 to 1946. During this time, his plane was shot down and he was a prisoner of war.

In 1947, he received an associate degree from Long Beach City College. In 1949, he earned a B.A. at Whittier College, in Whittier, California. He conducted graduate work at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California from 1950 to 1951. He was a teacher, a businessman, and he served as president of Wayne Grisham Realty from 1958 to 1978. He served as chairman of the board of directors of First Mutual Mortgage Co. from 1974 to 1978. He served as member of La Mirada City Council from 1970 to 1978. He then served as mayor of La Mirada from 1973 to 1974 and from 1977 to 1978. He served as a delegate to the California League of Cities and National League of Cities from 1970 to 1978.

Congress

A Republican, Grisham was elected to the United States House of Representative in 1978, succeeding retiring incumbent Del Clawson.

Later career and death

He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1982, after redistricting combined his district with that of fellow Republican David Dreier.

He served as director of the Peace Corps in Nairobi, Kenya, 1983.

He was elected to the California State Assembly in 1984 and was reelected in 1986. In 1987, he ran for the California State Senate in a special election to succeed Democrat Paul B. Carpenter, who resigned to become a member of the California Board of Equalization, but was defeated by Democratic Norwalk city councilman Cecil Green. He was narrowly defeated for reelection to the state Assembly in 1988 by Democrat Bob Epple, then a member of the Cerritos College Board of Trustees.

He was a resident of La Mirada, California.

References

Retrieved on March 28, 2010

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Former la Mirada Congressman Grisham dead at 88. 21 January 2011.