Tricia Easley-Whearty
Uncle John will always be my most favorite uncle. His love of all of his nephews and nieces was beautiful .. and he always made me feel like I was the only one. He will forever be missed and loved.
-Tricia Easley-Whearty
Birth date: Nov 1, 1941 Death date: Nov 1, 2023
Arthur John Grossman Jr. (Art), of Broken Arrow, the son of the late Arthur John Grossman Sr. and Margaret Grossman went to be with our Lord November 1, 2023, at the age of 82. He was a devout Catholic who died on his birthday lik Read Obituary
Uncle John will always be my most favorite uncle. His love of all of his nephews and nieces was beautiful .. and he always made me feel like I was the only one. He will forever be missed and loved.
-Tricia Easley-Whearty
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Shortly after relocating back to Oklahoma, Art met Sue. Art and Sue were married, and Art began yet another chapter in his life. They travelled together and enjoyed each other’s love and friendship. Art enjoyed spending time with Sue’s immediate and extended family and being surrounded by family once again.
When his son was asked what he loved most about his dad, he said "His dedication to his family and his career, and the sacrifices he made to his country and to help me succeed in life, academically, professionally, and as a kind, loving man.
Art also loved adventure. His son thinks what he loved most about adventures was planning the adventure. Art loved his maps and planning routes. His son remembers taking a round-trip adventure by car from California to Oklahoma and back to California to see the country and visit with Art’s mom, dad, and his younger sister Becky. He had his paper maps with yellow highlights for the routes to follow. His son remembers that trip and said "What a trip that was. We had an amazing time together as father and son. Our most frequent stop for food was probably Stuckey's."
His son shared that his dad would want to be remembered as an intelligent, organized, logical thinker, who planned effectively, sacrificed for his country, sacrificed for his family, gave to others in need, and was a loving husband, father, brother, uncle, father-in-law, godfather, and friend.
Art was pre-deceased by his father, Arthur John Grossman Sr., his mother, Margaret Grossman, his youngest sister, Rebecca Grossman, and his first wife, Patricia Ann Grossman. Left to live with the memories of his life are his beloved wife, Sue Grossman, and oldest sister, Peggy Easley, his only son, A.J. Grossman III, and his daughter-in-law Kiki Grossman, along with a host of nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Funeral services will be conducted at St. Anne's Catholic Church in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, on Tuesday, November 7, 2023, at 11:00am. Art will be interned in the Veteran's Honor Garden at Floral Haven Cemetery.
Arthur John Grossman Jr., also known as dad, Art, John, Uncle John, Uncle Johnny, and Johnny, was many things, including a planner, a giver, a logical thinker, and an expert organizer. "He was one of the smartest people I've ever known" according to his son. People called him stoic, reserved, conservative, thoughtful, generous, solitary, and sometimes a practical joker.
Art was a Navy officer. When he was discharged, after about 9 years of service to his country, his rank was Lieutenant Commander. Art originally wanted to be a fighter pilot. Unfortunately, his eyesight was not good enough to meet the requirements for that position. So, he served as a Navigator on the Lockheed P3 Orion, a four-engine turboprop anti-submarine aircraft. When asked what he did as a Navy Navigator he would say "We would fly around and look for enemy submarines under the water in places they were not supposed to be." His squadron was VP-6, known as the "Blue Sharks" squadron. He was stationed at Barber's Point on Oahu, Hawaii. Art traveled a lot with the Navy. His orders took him to some remote places around the world, including areas around Alaska, Japan, and Vietnam.
Art's Navy career began when he attended Marquette University on a Navy R.O.T.C. scholarship. He met his first wife, Pat, at Marquette. He and Pat had one son together, A.J. They tried to have a second child, that unfortunately, resulted in a miscarriage.
He loved his family with all his heart. Art also loved sports whether it was football, basketball, or golf. Whether a game was at the college or professional level, he was interested in watching. The Oklahoma Sooners were his team. Oh man did he love Sooners football. He took A.J. to college and professional football games and basketball games, including Shriner's games and wheelchair basketball. In 2007, he welcomed A.J. and his wife Kiki for the PGA National Championship in Tulsa. Family time, together, watching a sport. Art loved it!
Art was an active and involved father to his son. They enjoyed sports and other activities together. Art's son was a member of the Amateur Athletic Union ("AAU"). Art was very involved with Track and Field and his son's training. Because of this, Art decided to volunteer his time to be an event official. His son remembers his dad wearing a stopwatch around his neck like a badge of honor.
His son remembers Art consistently filming Christmas morning with his Super 8 video camera. Another fond memory is when Art and A.J. would drive up to the top of Mt. Hamilton in San Jose, CA with a telescope to gaze at the stars and look for their house in the neighborhood below.
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Art enjoyed being a teacher of all things. A.J. remembers when they would have family dinners and Art would tell A.J. "get your elbows off the table" or ask him "Is your neck tired?" because A.J. was holding his head in the palm of his hand with his elbow on the dinner table. It seemed like Art enjoyed being a professor of good manners.
Art was also a jokester or prankster. His son says, "I remember when my dad would scare me by hiding in my closet with a Halloween mask on and jumping out when I opened the closet door." Art used to tell one story of when he and his buddies put a manikin in the trunk of their car with fake blood on it and drove around town as a joke. People in the community were horrified and truly thought this car full of rebellious boys was up to no good.
Of course, Art was not perfect. Nobody is really. His son remembers when he had open blisters on the bottom of his feet and Art thought the best thing to do would be to pour hydrogen peroxide over A.J.'s feet. A.J. was not happy with his dad on that particular day and certainly did not think of his dad as perfect!
Art loved mechanical things. So, when VHS VCRs were first available for purchase by the public, Art got one. The year was roughly 1978, and he was so proud to bring it home. An incredibly large, expensive piece of machinery that played movies at home. His son remembers they had two VHS movies for a long time because they were quite expensive to buy and there was no opportunity to rent movies. The two movies in Art's collection for years were Doctor Zhivago and The Bridge on The River Kwai. Art loved war movies and old westerns. Nobody really knows why Doctor Zhivago was on the list other than it's a magnificent film, and his first wife, Pat, loved the movie.
My dad was an accomplished professional. He earned his MBA from Santa Clara University and his JD from Lincoln Law School. He was such a hard worker. He went to classes at night for his MBA and his JD while working a full-time job and being father to a son who could be quite a challenge at times. He was also proud of his career in the life insurance industry, earning just about every life insurance certification one could obtain. His son says that he thinks Art had larger business cards than anyone else just to accommodate all the letters and credentials after his name.
Art loved his church. His son remembers going to Sunday mass regularly, every Sunday, whether rain or shine. He also remembers that Art had a check written out for the donation basket for each and every mass. In his later years, Art volunteered his time to help with the bookkeeping at St. Anne’s. He also volunteered his time to help older people learn how to drive more safely. He also volunteered his time to help people prepare their IRS tax returns.
Art loved Hawaii. He and Pat lived on Oahu for many years. His son remembers that when they would go back to Hawaii as a family, Art's eyes would get a special sparkle, his energy would increase, and his excitement would rise. His son believes that if his mom had not gotten sick and tired of living on an island, Art would have remained in Hawaii.
One of Art's favorite meals was toasted English muffins topped with baked beans with a slice of melted American cheese covering all of it. Oh, and he absolutely loved his mom's German chocolate cake.
When Art retired from NY Life Insurance Company after a thirty-plus year career, his son had relocated to Florida to attend law school. So, Art saw an opportunity to leave California which he never really enjoyed. See, his first wife Pat said to him "I will never live in Oklahoma." So, when Pat died in 1997, and his son moved out to Florida, Art saw his opportunity to rekindle his roots and move back to where it all started in Oklahoma.