John Hobson Grummon

John Hobson Grummon, of Mattapoisett, MA, died peacefully—drifting off to the strains of “Fly Me to the Moon,” one of many songs to which he and his devoted wife, Betsy, used to dance—on September 12, 2017, of Alzheimer’s complications. John was born August 17, 1938, in Helsinki, Finland to his mother, Sandra “Mimi” Boardman Grummon, and his father, Stuart Edgar Grummon, who, at the time, was working as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer. John then spent the next 79 years on this earth exuding his warm charm, keen wit, and serious work ethic.

John’s formative years were spent with his parents in Redding, CT, where he and his sister, Judith, were surrounded by an array of scholars and artists, including beloved family friends, Helen Keller and Tasha Tudor. John spent his summers at the Boardman family compound in Holly Woods in Mattapoisett, MA, where his Uncle Earl mentored him in the ways of fishing, hunting, and otherwise feisty behavior. His Aunts—Claire, Alice, Margaret, and Dorothy—encouraged him to stay out of trouble (even into his adulthood).

John graduated from Oakwood Friends School in Poughkeepsie, New York in 1956, and then from Princeton University—where he played soccer and was an active member of the Ivy Club—in 1960. After college, he served as a medic in the National Guard while he worked at Morgan Guaranty Trust Co., and then, with his move to Clark Dodge & Co. Investment Bank in Manhattan, he settled in to start his family in New Canaan, CT.

Ultimately, his family home at Salt Spray Keep, on Buzzard’s Bay, in Mattapoisett, MA, drew John to accept a position in Boston, where he dedicated four decades to his career as a money manager. He split his time between the city and the seashore, and, when not engrossed in fatherhood and other responsibilities, he brought his fierce competitive spirit to his passions of squash, tennis, swimming, windsurfing, and skiing.

On July 20, 1991, John married the love of his life, Elizabeth Chapin, and thus “Betsy and Juan” happily settled into a partnership that kept the both of them busy with morning swims, brisk walks, gardening, entertaining, and the building of toasty fires in the Great Hall. John and Betsy also loved to travel together to their favorite places around the globe, including Tuscany, Rome, London, and Carmel, CA. John relished the days when he could tame the extensive lawn with the Locke mower and, as the years wore on, with his John Deere. He volunteered his time on the Board of the Rotch-Jones-Duff House and, when he eventually discovered the game of golf, he gleefully took on the new challenge of continual improvement on his game.

John is survived by his wife of 26 years, Betsy; his four children, Whitney (son-in-law Shawn Parker) and Wilder Grummon, and Eric and Liza Klaussmann; and by his four grandchildren, Sage and Haven Parker, Railey White, and Fox Klaussmann. They all loved him so very much and will miss him terribly, and, as homo-sapiens, will all do their very best to complete those projects on the perpetual to-do list.

Private family services will be held. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Rotch-Jones-Duff House, 396 County St, New Bedford, MA 02740 and to Princeton University, PO Box 5357, Princeton, NJ 08543--In Memory of John Grummon ’60.