Yolo-San Diego County CA Obituary Project Obituaries.....GRAU , Charles Richard "Dick"  November 16 2002
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Peggy B. Perazzo pbperazzo@comcast.net July 17, 2004, 12:52 am

"The Davis Enterprise," Thursday, November 21, 2002
Charles R. Grau

Charles Richard "Dick" Grau, a longtime Davis resident, died Nov. 16, 2002, due
to complications with pneumonia. He was 82.

Born on Nov. 5, 1920, in San Diego to Maude and Charles Grau, he lived with his
parents, who ran a chicken hatchery in La Mesa, until he left to attend the
university at UC Berkeley. He graduated from UC Berkeley in 1942 with a
bachelor's degree in chemistry and received his Ph.D. in animal nutrition from
UC Berkeley in 1946.

While attending college, he met Lois Sandner, a fellow student. They were
married in 1941 and continued to live in Berkeley, where he was a professor of
poultry husbandry, until 1954. The department, which later became the department
of avian sciences and is now the department of animal sciences, then moved to
the UC Davis campus.

Grau served as a professor of avian sciences at UCD until he retired in 1990
after 50 years of service with the UC system. His research interests included
nutrition and physiology of poultry, seabirds and other wild birds. He was one
of the world's experts on eggs. His background in studying the effects of oil
and pesticides on shorebirds led him to become an active supporter of many
environmental causes.

He was a dedicated researcher and teacher who was admired and loved by his
students. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1960 to do research in England
on embryonic nutrition and later did research on yolk formation in sea birds in
New Zealand and Scotland.

He served as chair of the avian sciences department from 1969 to 1976. He was a
fellow of the American Society for Nutritional Sciences and among other
professional affiliations was a member of the Society for Developmental Biology.
He was active with JASRAP, a summer internship program to encourage
underprivileged middle school students to become scientists.

From his first days in Davis, he and his wife were active in numerous
humanitarian and community service organizations, with a focus on world peace,
social justice and environmental protection. The Graus were founding members of
the Davis Unitarian Church where he chaired the building committee for the
current church. They were also among the original organizers of the Davis group
serving meals at Loaves & Fishes, a program serving the homeless and poor in
Sacramento.

In 1965 the couple joined the Short Term Emergency Aid Committee, which serves
immediate needs of individuals and families in Yolo County. His final volunteer
activity was helping to mail the 2002 STEAC holiday fund drive letter. The Graus
also worked together for Citizens Who Care, a volunteer organization serving the
elderly and disabled in Yolo County.

In 1978, the Graus received the C.A. Covell Trophy as Citizens of the Year in
recognition of their partnership in service to the Davis community.

He spent many peaceful weekends with his wife, family and friends at the Grau
family's cottage at Dillon Beach, where he enjoyed fishing in the tidepools and
collecting driftwood and shells from his long walks on the beach.

When in town, he frequented the Davis Farmers' Market where he will be missed by
many who knew him by name. He and his wife also spent much of their time tending
the large vegetable and flower garden along Eighth Street renowned for producing
towering sunflowers, a wall of sweetpeas and some of the earliest tomatoes of
the summer. When not in the garden, he could be found in his garage woodshop
making furniture and puzzles for friends and family. He was a skilled carpenter
who finished the interior of their Davis home.

He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Lois Sandner Grau; children, Susan
Heiser and her husband Walter of San Diego, David Grau of Chico, Ellen Hedges of
Livermore, and John Grau and wife Kim of Berkeley; and five grandchildren, Kelly
Boyer and her husband Jeff, Lindsey Carruthers, Emily Grau, Kathleen Hedges and
Elise Hedges.

A memorial service will be held Friday, Nov. 29, at 4 p.m. at the Unitarian
Church of Davis. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that contributions be
made to STEAC, P.O. Box 1047, Davis, CA 95617; Loaves and Fishes, c/o The
Unitarian Church, of Davis, 27074 Patwin Road, Davis, CA 95616; or the Unitarian
Church.


Additional Comments:
Submitted with the permission of the "The Davis Enterprise," 315 G Street,
Davis, CA 95616.

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