Lyman Grant Tracy

1932 ~ 2021

Obituary Photo for Lyman Grant Tracy < >

Lyman Grant Tracy Beloved Husband, Father, Grandfather, and Great-Grandfather, Lyman Grant Tracy passed from this life on June 4th, 2021, at 11:48 a.m. He and his wife Geri had resided in the home of their daughter Michelle in Tyler, Texas since December 2018. Grant would have reached his 89th birthday if he had lived another seven weeks until the 26th of July, 2021.

Grant was born on July 26, 1932, to Lyman Tracy and Joy Reid. In 1922, Lyman and Joy settled in Tyler, Montana where Grant was born. Grant was the third child arriving after his two sisters, Wilma and May. In 1925, they moved to the bench near Fairfield, Montana where Grant’s younger brother, Barton Reid was born. In 1940, Grant’s father Lyman was granted 360 acres of homestead land west of Fairfield where Grant worked side-by-side with his father from dawn till dark, often running the farm by himself as his father was otherwise employed.

Grant enlisted in the United States Navy in November of 1951. He served in the Korean War which ended July 27th, 1953, the day after his 21st birthday. Petty Officer, Lyman Grant Tracy was a Machinist Mate 2nd Class (MM2) on the USS Naval Aircraft Carrier, Valley Forge from April 1952 and served as a Throttle Man responsible for operation and repair of ship propulsion machinery. He also later served on another Naval Aircraft Carrier, the USS Yorktown.

In early 1953, the Valley Forge was docked temporarily at Bremerton Naval shipyard in Bremerton, Washington. It was here that Grant met Geraldine Faye Hill. They were married on April 20, 1954, in the Idaho Falls LDS temple. In 1955, while deployed overseas, before Grant was honorably discharged from the Navy, their first son, Barton was born. After his discharge from the Navy, they moved to Great Falls, Montana, and then to Townsend where Grant was hired as foreman of a 7,000-acre cattle ranch. In Townsend in 1956, their second son, Lance was born.

Subsequently, to study animal husbandry, they decided to move to Provo, Utah where Grant attended night classes at Brigham Young University. While living in Provo, employed by a glass company, Grant’s exceptional work ethic was observed by a fellow employee and BYU student whose family owned a glass company in California. He was soon recruited by this company and Grant and Geri moved to Glendale, California where in 1960, their daughter Janell was born. As an infant, Janell developed breathing difficulties due to extreme air pollution in the area. Working two jobs and finding it difficult to drive with burning eyes, Grant finally got a little time off. The family decided to make a short trip to Bremerton, Washington to visit Geri’s parents. Watching Los Angeles smog disappear in the rearview mirror and enjoying the fresh air on their way to Washington, they decided to leave California behind permanently. They moved to Tacoma, Washington where at first, Grant worked for Milgard Manufacturing, a window and door company. Not long after, Grant started his own glass and paint business.

In Tacoma, two more children were born, Michelle in 1965, and Keith in 1967. In 1968, the name of Grant’s growing glass and paint business was changed to Glass Doctor, Inc. With great struggle, determination, and innovation, Grant became a very busy man. His ideas and inventions were fresh and are still used in the glass industry today. He prevailed with great success and Glass Doctor grew rapidly.

He moved his family to a nice brick home in Auburn, Washington in 1969 where the family settled for nearly ten years. Grant served in many positions in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout his life including several capacities on High Councils and bishoprics including as a Bishop’s counselor in a Young Single Adult Ward.

Grant and his son, Bart began to franchise Glass Doctor in 1976, first in Dallas, Texas, then in Atlanta, Georgia. From there, the company grew to become the largest glass replacement franchise system in the nation. In 1995, the company was sold, and Grant and Geri continued to pursue several other family business interests. They settled into country life and began to develop the land they had purchased in Wilkeson, Washington in 1978. They had acquired 40 acres of pristine pastureland with large trees where Grant and Geri and various family members made their home. Grant finally had time to focus on the cattle ranch he had always dreamed of. The farm they named “Green Meadows” served as a popular gathering place for family, friends, church events, birthdays, holidays, campouts, and service projects for many, many years. Grant and Geri wanted nothing more than to provide something as close to heaven on earth as possible and it became reality on this prime farmland where his father and Geri’s parents enjoyed their last years. Grant and Geri resided on the farm until they went to visit their daughter, Michelle in Tyler, Texas Because of several recent injuries and aftereffects of wartime PTSD, Grant was not able to travel further.

Grant is survived by his wife, Geri, and four of his five children, Lance, Janell, Michelle, and Keith, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Grant is preceded in death by his parents Lyman and Joy, his son, Bart, his two sisters, Wilma and May, and his brother, Barton Ried. Full Military honors and celebration of life graveside memorial service and interment were held on Saturday, June 12th, 2021, at the Bountiful City Cemetery in Bountiful, Utah.

Grant, we’re striving to follow your personal counsel, “Look forward, always look forward.” We love you. We’ll see you soon!