John Gern Griesel Jr.

John Gern Griesel, Jr. was born January 2, 1938 in Pawnee, Oklahoma. His parents, John and Viola Griesel raised him and his sisters in Pawnee, Garland, and finally, in the Lakewood neighborhood in Dallas, where he would spend most of his 87 1/2 years.

He was a proud graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School, where he was the head of the projectionists club and played trombone. He helped his father build and brick their house on Victor Street. As an Eagle Scout, he worked as a lifeguard at the East Dallas YMCA. He worked his way through the University of Texas as a dishwasher/server in a dormitory, as one of the finest line cooks at 2-J’s-Austin’s finest hamburger joint, and as a reservist in the United States Navy, serving as an Aeronautics Technician aboard the U.S.S. Franklin D. Roosevelt and at NAS Dallas.

He graduated UT as an electrical engineer. He would work on a variety of projects including for the U.S. Navy and Air Force and NASA. His work would take him on submarines, Gemini mission tracking ships, and to the middle of the Mojave desert to monitor missile launches.

But most importantly, it took him to New York City where, on a blind date, he fell hopelessly and forever in love with a young Italian- American woman-Elena Maffia. The big city Northern girl and small town Oklahoma boy were a delightful pair and would spend the next 59 years of their lives together. Elena passed away in 2022 and it is fair to say that he loved her from the first moment he saw her until his last breath.

In 1970, they settled for good in Lakewood. John spent most of the rest of his professional life working on public safety communication. He made sure that police, fire and EMT’s could communicate with each other to save the lives of the citizens they protected. Along with the men he worked with at the City of Dallas Department of Communications Services in Fair Park, he built one of the most effective public safety radio networks. He designed and implemented these life saving systems not only in Dallas and surrounding suburbs, but in most major Texas cities and in distant states. His systems were so robust and strong, they could withstand the power of an F5 tornado. He was a dedicated and amazing engineer who loved solving problems and keeping people secure and he enjoyed facing those challenges with the people he worked with.

Elena made sure he was equally involved in their parish, Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church. He sold raffle tickets, worked carnivals, and coached youth sports. Later on, as a team, they found spare parts for Catholic radio stations in Central America to keep them on the air and worked to clean up and restore an abandoned historic Catholic cemetery. He said one of the best parts of his day was sitting watching the Rangers game with his friend, Frank Campise, while their wives participated in a weekly prayer group. John attributed the Rangers World Series Ring to his friend’s divine intervention.

In addition to his family and friends, John loved his dogs, Texas history, his 1969 Gold Camero, Darrell K. Royal, Earl Campbell, Roger Staubach, and the Lord-not in that order. He loved gadgets. He made a crystal radio as kid, owned a pinball machine, was an early adopter of the Atari and TRS-80, and taught his grandchildren to play computer games with titles like “Babe the Pig”and “Acorn Pond”.

He is survived by his two sons, Andrew and Christopher and his wife Linda; two grandchildren, Charlotte and Joseph, and a multitude of family and friends. He was an excellent father and absolutely was besotted by his grandchildren.

The family would like to thank John’s caregivers, especially Susan, Rose, and Pearla, for the skillful and dedicated services, caring hands and friendship during John’s final years.