LC’s Gripons made an immediate mark

Sometimes when you get to be my age, you don’t remember everything. And as was pointed out to me last week, one first I failed to mention when I was talking about females was our first female mayor, Toni Randall.

My apologies to former Mayor Randall; it is not that I have forgotten, it is just that I didn’t remember.

As I stated earlier, you don’t have to live here for generations to make an impact on our way of life. The Gripon family is a perfect example of that. Lynn R. Gripon was born in December 1925 in Houston. He was a 1943 graduate of Reagan High School and a team member of Scout Troop 75 where he had attained the rank of the Eagle Scout.

In 1943, he went to Texas A&M but had to set aside his studies long enough for a tour of duty in the U.S. Army and a marriage to Lorene Harris in San Jose, Calif.

In 1950, after a year in California and graduating in 1949 from Texas A&M with a degree in landscape architecture, Gripon established Lynn’s Landscaping and Garden Center in League City.

Together, Lynn and Lorraine had four children, Sherri, Randy, Denise and Greg. Greg is the owner operator of the family business. Lynn Gripon led by example in our community.

He is responsible for every oak tree that is planted on the grounds of Ross Elementary as well as the oak trees that were in the median going west on FM 518.

He contributed his time and expertise to many different organizations in our town.

He was a past president of the Clear Creek High School Wildcats booster club, the first president of Ross Elementary PTA, a member of the League City Lions Club, where he received the Melvin Jones Award, a member of the Galveston County Aggies Club, chairman of the first League City Parks Board, a member of the League City Methodist Church Administration Board, a member of League City Clean and Green and an honorary member of the League City Garden Club.

Gripon was a personable and well-liked individual in the community of League City who was always trying to help improve the quality of life for the residents.

The second generation of the Gripon family in League City continues the contributions.

For more than the 50 years, he ran Lynn’s Landscaping, and he employed hundreds of individuals and met, made friends with and affected the lives of many, many people.

He enjoyed being with people, so I guess that it would be fitting that in the last line of his obituary it would say “friends are asked to bring soil from their yard to be placed on Lynn’s grave.”

Chris John Mallios, a longtime resident of League City, is writing a series of occasional columns about the history of his hometown. He can be reached at mallios(at)comcast.net.