Clear, 55° F
(Sept. 29, 2006)
Funeral services will be conducted at 1 p.m. today (Tuesday) for long-time Powell resident Merced (Jim) Grijalva, 95, who died early Friday, Sept. 29 at Powell Valley Healthcare.
Father Pete Johnson will officiate at services at St. Barbara’s Catholic Church, with burial in Crown Hill Cemetery under the direction of Thompson Funeral Home.
He was born Sept. 23, 1911, in Arrey, N.M. He moved to Powell at a young age and made it his home for 82 years. He Jim started out working on farms, then got a job at the Ford garage, where he worked for 35 years as a service technician and later as a groundskeeper
Jim is well known around the community for his garden and his generosity. He loved to grow vegetables and chilies to give to friends. He claimed to have the biggest tomatoes and hottest chilies in Powell.
He is survived by his wife of 74 years, Mary Grijalva of Powell; his daughter, Christine Forsman of Butte, Mont.; his grandsons, Vince Forsman and wife Vicky of White Sulphur Springs, Mont., and Al Forsman and wife Robin of Butte; his granddaughter, Judy Glueckert and husband Tim of Dillon, Mont.; his brother, Joe Grijalva of Nyssa, Ore.; his sisters, Ursula Gonzalas of Phoenix, Ariz., and Anita Grijalva of Silver City, N.M.; and also by 12 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren. Jim is preceded in death by his parents, four brothers, three sisters, and his beloved son-in-law, Frank Forsman.
Pallbearers will be Jessie Aguirre, Philip Bustos, Raymond Rodriguez, Vinson Forsman, Vince Forsman, Al Forsman, and Eric Forsman.
The family will miss the entertaining stories, the wild rides in the truck, and Jim’s beautiful smile.
