Peter John Grady

Peter was the youngest of five kids. He was born in New Jersey to the late Jack and Kathryn (Neenan) Grady. His parents soon moved to Palos Verdes, California where he spent the next 10 years enjoying the sunshine and travel, earning his Eagle Scout award, and attending St. Lawrence Martyr Catholic School. While attending St. Lawrence, Peter met his best friend Peter Perry, and the “Pete and Re-Pete” stories and adventures were born. His greatest memories during this time were scouting adventures with Pete and outdoor activities with his family. His love of meals at “The Red Onion” and all things California would be shared for years to come.

A promotion for Peter’s dad brought him to Texas in 1981 where he attended Victoria High School and met his future wife, Jeri. He became as Texan as you can get, graduating from the University of Texas at Austin in 1988 with a BA in Economics. He went on to an amazing career including Dell, Office Depot, and finally becoming a small business owner in 2017. Because Peter was also gifted with a generous smile and a tenacious work ethic, he won many Circle of Excellence awards and other sales trips. His favorite trips included Maui, Kona, Italy, and Austria.

As his career grew and blossomed, so did his family. Peter married Jeri Jacobs on St. Patrick’s Day of 1990 in Holy Family Catholic Church in Victoria, Texas. They were blessed with 31 years of marriage and five amazing children. They lived in Austin and Pflugerville before settling in Leander in 2000. Peter threw himself into being a dad with the tenacity that served him so well in his career. He served as a coach, assistant coach, assistant scout master, booster club president (for 5 different sports), fundraising chair, chaperone for trips, and cheer dad. His weekends were spent with the family and Saturdays (when not at a kid event) were dedicated to college football. His love of the game and his fun-loving nature also allowed his kids to become sports fans and the Grady house TV often was replaced with a bigger one to capture all the games from the kids’ colleges as well. Although Peter bled burnt orange, he was so incredibly proud of his Aggies (2) (PJ and Riley), Red Raider (Katie), LSU Tiger (Molly), and future Belmont Abbey Crusader (Gracie). These five young people were and are his greatest legacy.

As much as Saturday was for football, Sunday was for God. Peter’s dedication to his faith was constant; Peter spent much of his time at church volunteering, cooking, serving, and enjoying social events. From leading early marriage engagement weekends, leading the Alter Server Ministry for 7 years at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, joining the Knights of Columbus, and serving as an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist, Peter was involved as much as possible. While participating in many ministries and making lifelong friends, Peter’s attendance in CRHP (Christ Renews His Parish) weekend would forever change his life. This weekend, and the many he worked after, would always be one of the most important parts of his faith journey.

The love of his life and his best friend was his wife, Jeri. Their 31 years of barbeques, parties, trips, camping adventures, and just plain fun completed his life. While Peter and Jeri were planning for weddings (for PJ and his beautiful fiancé, Anisa Wakil), graduations, and retirement, Peter was diagnosed with Lymphoma. His year-long brave battle with the disease finally ended with a sudden hospitalization and an incredibly sad, but peaceful passing.

He is survived by his wife Jeri, his oldest son Peter Jacob (PJ), his daughter Katherine (Katie), his daughter Molly, his son Riley, and his daughter Gracelyn (Gracie) all of Leander, Texas.

He is also survived by his siblings, Kevin Grady and his wife Linda of Georgia, and Sean Grady and his wife Debbie of Pennsylvania, Kate Ferguson and her husband Michael of Wisconsin, and Ann Finley and her husband Tim of Austin. His is also survived by his Godfather and uncle, Mike Grady of Austin. He is predeceased by his parents Jack and Kathy Grady.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (www.lls.org)