March 2, 1934 – December 31, 2023
Dr. Joseph M. Grantham, Ph.D. (89) of Prairie Village, Kansas, passed away peacefully on NewYear’s Eve, 2023. Joe, or “Skip” or “Dr. Joe” as he was known, was born in Kansas City, Kansas, butspent his early formative years in St. Louis, Missouri where he became a lifelong Cardinals fan.
Joe attended Bishop Ward High School (’51), Kansas City, Kansas Community College (’53),Rockhurst College (’56), and UMKC (Ph.D. ’75).
Joe was an exceptional athlete who excelled in baseball and basketball. He played in the Ban Johnson League for Lapetina’s and Moody Motors where he was offered contracts by the Yankees,Cardinals, and A’s. He was recruited by the legendary Kansas State basketball coach, Tex Winter; but instead, he chose to stay closer to home and accepted a scholarship to Rockhurst College where he captained the basketball team and starred on the baseball field as well.
Where Joe truly excelled, though, was touching the lives of countless young people in the KansasCity area. He lived a life of service to young people as he embarked on his teaching and coaching career in the fall of 1956 at De La Salle High School (13 years). He moved then to Rockhurst College (7 years), Park Hill High School (2 years), St. John’s Seminary (4 years), and finished at St. Teresa’s Academy (25 years).
Over his 51 years of teaching, Joe was mainly known as a math teacher where he helped kids conquer those pesky quadratic equations; but more importantly, he instilled the confidence needed to succeed that went far beyond the classroom. His warm smile, hearty laugh, big bear hugs, and harmonica playing will truly be missed.
Over the years Joe coached several sports, starting with baseball, football, and basketball at De LaSalle. At Rockhurst College, he coached basketball and baseball while teaching classes in kinesiology and educational methods. He was the head basketball coach at St. John’s Seminary the last four years it was open and closed out his coaching career with the cross-country team at St. Teresa’s Academy. Upon his retirement from St. Teresa’s Academy in 2008, the school established the “Dr. Joe Grantham Scholarship Fund” in his name.
He took his 1968 De La Salle basketball team to State where they finished 4th. That year the KCMetro basketball coaches voted him Coach of the Year. Joe’s 1974 Rockhurst baseball team led all NAIA teams in hitting with a blistering .359 batting average. In 2003, Joe was inducted into the Rockhurst University Athletic Hall of Fame, and in 2012, the Greater Kansas City Coaches Association awarded him the Tom Colwell Lifetime Achievement Award.
In the mid-1970s, Joe caught the running bug and became an avid long-distance runner competing in numerous races around the country over his running career. Most notably, Joe completed 20 marathons, including eight Boston Marathons and 17 consecutive Dipsea races.
Joe is preceded in death by his parents Wynonna and Aubrey Grantham, his son Christopher,grandson Leslie “Bink” III, and his beloved DLS “Tontine.”
He is survived by his loving wife Charlyne of 68 years, children: Robyn, Joe (Patti), Cindi, Charlyne (Leslie), Tim (Markita), Matthew (Cindy), 14 grandchildren, and 16 (with one on the way) great-grandchildren.
Funeral and celebration of Joe’s life will be held on January 19th, 10:00 AM, at St. Ann’s Church inPrairie Village, KS. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the “Dr. Joe Grantham Scholarship Fund” at St. Teresa’s Academy or St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
Obituary published by Cremation Center of Kansas City.
