Jamie S Grassmann

Jamie Shaun Grassmann was born August 3, 1964 in Memphis, Tennessee. He passed away on June 4, 2025 at the age of 60 after a long journey with cancer. He grew up in Oklahoma City and lived there until moving to the Washington, D.C. area. While there, Jamie worked as a bartender at the popular, D.C. Eagle, where he met his husband of 34 years, Jim Petosa. In 2011, on their 20th anniversary, Jamie, a lifelong Unitarian, and Jim were married at United First Parish Church in Quincy, MA, which had become their congregational home. Jamie was caring, kind, playful, adventurous, thoughtful, compassionate, and dedicated. He loved nature and animals (especially Jamie and Jim’s Italian Greyhounds and cats), video games, techno music and science fiction. For many years he worked as a framer, enhancing art of all kinds through his work at The Framers’ Workroom in Washington, DC and for twenty years as manager of the Back Bay store of Stanhope Framers.. He served as an art handler and installation technician for the Smithsonian and the National Women’s Museum. Jamie was both an artisan and an artist. He had a particular instinct for visual art and his passion for techno music came to fruition in his membership in the DC based music group FEAR TACTICS. That group composed and performed music for the DC area premiere of pioneering gay playwright Robert Chesley’s DOG PLAYS with the Potomac Theatre Project in 1991. Jamie helped create fund raising opportunities for AIDS activist support organizations like Brother Help Thyself and the Whitman/Walker Clinic. He also worked as a production assistant at the Olney Theatre Center and its Summer Shakespeare annual tour. At UFPC Jamie took on myriad roles in the congregation, including serving as a Greeter, the Committee on Ministry, the Ministerial Search Committee, the Board of Governors, the Worship Committee, participating in the Writing Group, being a mentor in the Coming of Age Program, and more. During the pandemic Jamie was instrumental in transitioning UFPC to “zoom church” and was one of the founding members of its Livestream Team upon return to in-person services. Jamie lived his values in the ways that he showed up for his friends, his communities and in his activism for LGBTQ+ equality and racial equality.

In addition to his husband Jim, Jamie is survived by his father, John Grassmann (Cynthia Banneker Grassmann), two sisters Jessica Mallard (Chuck) and sister Alycia Cissell, niece and nephews, Nathan Mallard, Ienzo Cissell and Natalia Schlecht, Laura Wells (Chris), Jonathan Kelly, many uncles and aunts and cousins and sister-in-law Elaine Kelly (Richard). Jamie’s loss hits hard. He will be dearly missed. He is predeceased by his mother, Anne Marie Grassmann of St. Louis, MO and cousin Jeph Olsen, with whom he was particularly close. Jamie will be missed by many, from many communities, who love him and hold him close.

In lieu of flowers, donations in his name to The Trevor Project (thetrevorproject.org) are gratefully encouraged.

A Celebration of Life will be held to.memorialize Jamie on August 3, 2025 at 2 pm at United First Parish Church (“The Church of the Presidents”) at 1306 Hancock Street, Quincy, Massachusetts.

Photo credit: Robert Siegelman