Lewis Edward Grace Jr.

Lewis Grace, Jr., 92, of Kansas City, MO went to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, June 8, 2016. He was born in Harlem, MO to Lewis Sr. and Lydia (Rosenbaugh) Grace. Lewis was a lifetime member of Boy Scout Troop 122 and an Honorary Warrior in the tribe of Mic-O-Say. He was District Commissioner of the Broken Arrow District and recipient of the Silver Beaver award. Lewis was in the Army from 1943 – 1945, and was in the invasion of Normandy Beaches and the Battle of the Bulge. He received the French Legion of Honor in 2009. Lewis is survived by his wife of 58 years, Louise; their 3 children, Larry, Jeff (Michelle) and Lana (Don) Smarker and 7 grandchildren, Landon (Megan), Logan (Michelle), Lindsay, Lauren, Andrew, Phillip and Adam as well as other nephews, nieces and family members. Visitation will be held June 13, at 11:30 am at First Baptist Church in North Kansas City. Funeral service will be held at 1:00 pm with burial at White Chapel Cemetery following. Those who knew Lewis will know how he loved to tell stories of his military career. He shared these details of his life so we may all remember his legacy ~ Lewis faithfully attended Harlem Baptist Church from infancy to 2002. He served as Chairman of the Board of Deacons, Sunday School Superintendent, Director of Baptist Adult Union, Treasurer and teacher of men’s and women’s Sunday school classes. He was also the liaison between the church and their sponsored Boy Scout Troop 122, of which he was a member for 70 years. Lewis graduated from North Kansas City High School in May, 1942 and his draft notice followed soon after. He traveled to Fort Leavenworth, KS on Feb. 5, 1943 for 4-5 days then went to Fort Belvoir, Virginia for basic training. He was in New York for 5 -6 Months for training (radio communication). Three men were selected to go to either Camp Sullivan, Alaska or Camp Breckenridge, Kentucky.…...they chose Kentucky where he joined the 208 Engineer Combat Battalion. Arriving at Camp Breckenridge, they stayed for around 6 months before being shipped out from Brooklyn Navy Yard. They landed in Green Knox, Scotland then traveled by train to Oxford, England. Then took trucks to Camp Besel Lee, England. They stayed at this camp until the Invasion of Normandy, France, where the battalion landed on Utah Beach on June 7. Lewis assisted in building roads at Normandy, cleaned out land mines, developed aircraft landing strips, etc. They moved on to Aachen, Germany in December 1944 and participated in the Battle of the Bulge, living in foxholes and exchanging fire with Germans for 2 months. Checkpoints were challenging as the US changed passwords every 24 hours. In February 1945, they crossed the Roer and Rhine Rivers in Germany, as Lewis worked as a radio operator for 2 months. The next stop was the Elk River, outside of Berlin. At that time they learned of the end of the war on May 7, 1945 but President Harry Truman declared May 8 as Victory in Europe Day (VE Day). Lewis stayed in Berlin after the war ended to build a mess hall for U.S. Troops. Lewis arrived home on Christmas Eve 1945. His military service earned him the European Theater Operations Medal, 4 Battle Stars, a Good Conduct Medal, Victory Medal and later, the French Legion of Honor medal. He wanted to buy a new car when he returned from the war but no one was able to buy one. However, Mr. H. Virgil ‘Skip’ Bower, a long-time family friend and Troop 122 Scout Master of 63 years, encouraged Lewis to attend William Jewell College, Liberty, MO. He wasn’t quite ready for higher education so… He held several jobs over the next few years: Drove a cab in New York City Worked the assembly line at Ford, making car seat cushions. Did cabin maintenance for planes at TWA, now known as the Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport. Then he decided to attend William Jewell College for 2 years before landing a sales job at Castle Steel, Lewis’ first union shop. It began a 49 year career in the steel industry before retiring from Rich-Conover Steel in 1996. In the years since, Lewis enjoyed traveling, lunching with his buddies, mowing his yard and spending time with friends and family. He was a great man and will be missed by all who knew and loved him ~ In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorial gifts ti First Baptist Church of North Kansas City