James "Jim" McGrath

McGrath. He grew up in Levittown, Long Island with his sister Geraldine and brother Gary. He

graduated from Division Avenue High School in 1960 where he was a two-time state champion

wrestler. After high school, Jim went to Wayne State College on a wrestling scholarship where

he was an All-American. He graduated with his Bachelor’s Degree in 1964. In 1963, he married

Susan Allan and they had two daughters together, Christine Martin and Kelley McGrath, both of

Omaha. Tragically, Jim lost his first wife, Susie, when she passed away unexpectedly in 1973.

In 1992, Jim married Beth McGrath, and they were blessed with two children, Nicholas and

Colleen.

Jim began his career at Highland High School in Riverside, IA, where he taught and coached

wrestling for 3 years before moving to Ralston, NE in 1968. Jim taught at Ralston High School

from 1968 until his retirement in 2005. He was the head wrestling coach all those years and also

coached freshman and J.V. football from 1986 to 2004. In addition to coaching, Jim was the

head sponsor for the Ralston High School Ski club, where he guided hundreds of students

through learning to ski over the slopes of Colorado. He was constantly running into former

students who were quick and happy to share funny and meaningful stories from his classroom,

coaching, and ski trips. He loved those stories. Following his retirement, Jim served for a

number of years as a Board member for Ralston High School’s Booster Club and continued to

substitute teach in Ralston until the March 2020 shut down due to the pandemic.

Described as a man with a tough exterior and soft inside, Jim was incredibly sentimental and

loved his friends and family fiercely.

In addition to loving his family and friends, Jim’s passions included good times, making people

laugh, Christmas, motorcycling, boxing, all things wrestling, New York City, the New York

Yankees, and his beloved greyhounds, Winston and Chase.

Along with his wife and children, Jim is survived by his sister Geraldine Morin of Temple TX, his

brother Gary (Susan) McGrath of Surprise, AZ; grandchildren: Tyler and Ellie Martin. nephews Brian and Evan McGrath, nieces Tara Trevino, Terri Carter, Maggie Christensen, Katie Banghart, Nicholas’ girlfriend Liz Herriot and Colleen’s boyfriend J. D. Rader, numerous great-nieces and nephews and the entire Ralston Wrestling Community.