GRIER, Perry Hakeman 1917-2008
GRIER, HAKEMAN, WILLIAMS
Posted By: K. L. Kittleson
Date: 7/23/2019 at 20:41:32
#1:
Perry H. Grier
Perry H. Grier, 90, of Fort Dodge, formerly of Waterloo, died Thursday, January 31, 2008 at the Tompkins Memorial Health Center, Fort Dodge.
Perry Hakeman Grier was born on June 4, 1917, the only son and youngest of four children, to Benjamin Walker and Jennie Linn (Hakeman) Grier in Hartwick, Iowa.
On October 12, 1940 Perry was united in marriage to Mary Frances Williams of Waterloo. They were married at the Little Brown Church, Nashua, Iowa. To this union five children were born. They include James William Grier (Joyce), Peggy Marie Grier, Joan Irene Grier Wiese (Valgene), Jerry Benjamin Grier and Jeanette Linn Grier Proehl (Larry).
Perry was in the field of education all of his working years. He filled the posts of teacher, principal, educational consultant, county superintendent and AEA 7 administrator in Black Hawk County from 1942 until retiring on July 1, 1980.
Perry is survived by four children, eleven grandchildren, twelve great-grandchildren, one brother-in-law Harold Carlson, many nieces, nephews and friends.
Mr. Grier was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Frances, an infant daughter Peggy Marie, one grandson Travis Gene Wiese, his three sisters Mildred Sands, Alma Pegram and Alta Carlson, and one brother-in-law Leslie Sands.
A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, February 9, 2008 in the Celebration Center of Friendship Haven and another service will be at 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon at St. Timothy’s United Methodist Church in Cedar Falls.
In lieu of flowers the family requests memorials to be directed to the Heifer Project International.
SOURCE: Bruce-Graham Funeral Home
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#2:
WATERLOO, IOWA - A man who was key to establishing both a school for the mentally disabled and a regional vocational institution has died.
Perry Grier died Thursday at age 90 in Fort Dodge, where he has lived since 1990.
The former Waterloo man led efforts to organize Hawkeye Institute of Technology and River Hills School, which serves students with physical and mental disabilities. He later became chief administrator of Cedar Falls-based Area Education Agency 7, now part of AEA 267.
River Hills was opened in Cedar Falls in 1967 by the Joint County School System, a precursor to the AEA. Grier was superintendent of the county system.
"He would be a very strong forerunner in the movement to provide services to disabled people," said Ron Dickinson, who succeeded Grier in 1980 as AEA 7's chief administrator. Dickinson called him "a pioneer" in the field, along with a number of other local educators and organizations.
About the same time, Grier headed the committee that established what is now Hawkeye Community College in 1966. He worked with the region's school districts to create Hawkeye's primary service area and establish a tax base.
"It was his responsibility to go to what came to be 26 school districts that became part of AEA 7," said Beverly Hinders Trost, who later worked for Grier as the education agency's media services director.
Grier's son, Jerry, said his father also initially defined Hawkeye's structure and programs.
"He then was responsible for doing the first general election for the Hawkeye board," said Jerry Grier. "He ran the election, nine people were elected. He actually helped with the swearing-in and passed the gavel over to them."
Perry Grier started his career as a math teacher at Orange Township School south of Waterloo in 1941, later becoming principal. He also served as principal of Cedar Heights Elementary and Price Laboratory School in Cedar Falls before becoming an educational consultant for the Black Hawk County School System in 1952. The system assisted local school district officials and ensured state-mandated educational standards were maintained.
When W. Harold Hartman resigned as system superintendent in 1959, Grier was named to the position. At the time, he was serving as mayor of Castle Hill, a town that disappeared as Waterloo and Cedar Falls grew. He resigned the mayor's post after being named superintendent.
Grier's agency eventually became the Joint County School System, also encompassing Buchanan, Bremer, Butler and Grundy counties. In 1975, following the passage of state legislation, AEA 7 was formed, mirroring the districts across 10 counties that made up Hawkeye's service area. Grier was named chief administrator of the agency, which provides special education, technology and teacher support services to area districts.
"He had the real significant task of putting about five county school systems together to create the area education agency," said Dickinson. "The local superintendents had great admiration for Perry, because he was very knowledgeable and a strong business person."
In the years leading up to the AEA's creation, Jerry Grier said, his father worked to expand library, speech and special education services available through his agency. He also assisted with some of the school district mergers that are now part of Waterloo Community Schools.
SOURCE: Waterloo Courier
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Note: See a photo of his grave marker, at Waterloo
[Iowa] Memorial Park Cemetery, on GPP
GPP Website
Black Hawk Obituaries maintained by Karen De Groote.
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