Virgil Harrison Grogan Jr

Virgil Harrison Grogan was born on June 3, 1924, on the Douglas Farm SW of McKinney, TX. His parents were Virgil H. Grogan Sr. (born in N.C.) and Dora Alice (Kite) Grogan (born in TN). He was the 5th of their 5 children: Edna b.1914, Turner b.1915, Charley b.1916, Lena b.1919.

When V.H. was 5 years old, the family moved a few miles closer to McKinney to the Wilson Farm where they lived and farmed until a little while after WWII.

He attended White Groves School thru 8th grade and graduated with the McKinney High School class of 1942-43.

December 1943, V.H. joined the U.S. Navy. (He did not want to go off anywhere that was cold…he wanted a warm climate to serve his country.) He rode the train out of Dallas to San Diego, where he went through training. After shakedown training along the west coast, his ship, the USS Atalla (APA-130) departed Seattle, Washington on January 31, 1945 bound for Pearl Harbor to embark troops and equipment and then got underway on February 9, bound for Eniwetok. The Attala went all over the Pacific from the west coast to the coast of China. (These places included: Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok, Iwo Jima, Saipan, San Francisco, Maui, Ulithi, Leyte Gulf, Everett, WA, Hagushi Beach, Okinawa, Jinsen, Korea, Tsingtao, China, Manila, Phil.). If all this running around were strung together, it would circle the globe 3 ½ times! V.H. was at Iwo Jima when the U.S. reclaimed it from the Japanese. He was not too far out from Okinawa when the A-bomb was dropped on Japan. On January 23, 1946 the Atalla transited the Panama Canal and then continued on for Norfolk, VA. V.H. then had 30 days to report to New Orleans, so he and several of his Navy pals hitchhiked their way down there. (First they toured Washington, D.C. which he got to see 63 yrs later in 2009 when he went with HONOR FLIGHTS.) He was discharged in Norman, OK on April 9, l946. [I DEVOTED A GREAT DEAL OF SPACE HERE BECAUSE V.H. LOVED TO GO BACK IN HIS MEMORIES TO THIS TIME OF HIS LIFE……BELIEVE ME, THERE IS SO MUCH MORE THAT COULD HAVE BE WRITTEN!]

V.H. attended North Texas State Univ. for 3 semesters then worked for Shell Oil in west Texas for a few months till a friend of his got him interested in the produce business so he bought his own truck and began criss-crossing the U.S. Along about 1951, he met Gloria Jo Johnson and they married May 12, 1952. Soon, they had three children, David, Brenda and Linda. Sadly, in May 1963, Jo passed away at the age of 39.

Virgil re-located his family to OKC in 1967 to get a fresh start. In 1975, he married Betty Blythe Camp and gained four more daughters: Norma, Darlene, Jo Ann, and Nona.

In the late 60's, Virgil began working with a man he came to respect and love. Dan Devine who was the owner of Marker Pre-Pak and not only his boss, but his mentor, and dear friend. Virgil worked there until he retired at the age of 83.

The last 7 years of his life were spent enjoying his and Betty's home in Del City. He loved getting together with all their children and their offspring…..17 grandchildren, 12 greats, and 4 great-great grandchildren as well as his sister Lena, nieces: Bobbie, Charlsie Beth, Judy, Deborah and Andrea and nephew Wayne.

He was always upbeat! Whenever asked how he was doing, usually his reply was, "Not too bad for a young man!"

We will miss him so, but he is now in a much better place. "We now have sorrow, but we will seek you again, and our heart shall rejoice, and our joy no man can take from us." John 16:22

Arrangements under the direction of Sunny Lane Funeral Home, Del City, OK.