Mrs. Grissom's Salads Founder Dead at 94

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - May 26, 2013 - PRLog -- (Nashville, TN)—Nashville lost one of its business legends today. 94 Year old Grace G. Grissom, died at her home following a short illness. Mrs. “G” as she was also known, had remained active in the family business for almost six decades—maintaining regular office hours at the company’s Nashville headquarters until a few weeks before her death.
She was born Grace Gass on August 19, 1918 in Meigs County, Tennessee.  Her father was a roving Methodist Minister so the family moved from town to town in East Tennessee during her youth.

After a brief stint working in the business office of The Southern Railway Company in Knoxville, Mrs. G. along with her husband Herbert and young daughter Herberta moved to Nashville to become partners in a friend’s food business.  After a year of partnership the Grissom’s bought out their friends and launched Mrs. Grissom’s Salads in the spring of 1955.

From humble beginnings in an old restaurant building in East Nashville to their present facility on Bransford Avenue, the one constant in the company was the oversight of Grace Grissom. From local groceries to Amazon, the company’s products are now available nationwide.

Mrs. Grissom was a special guest on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry March 2, 2013 as a returning sponsor of one of America’s most popular radio shows.  

In 2005 at the celebration of the company’s 50th anniversary, Mrs. Grissom appointed long time Grissom general manager and son-in-law Kenneth Funger to the CEO position. Although leaving the day to day business to Funger and other long-time trusted company executives, she remained steadfast in making sure the original recipes were faithfully followed and that the consistency and quality customers had grown to expect from Mrs. Grissom’s products never faltered from the standards she set in the beginning.

A pioneer in the business world during the 1950’s when very few women were running their own companies, Mrs. Grissom was honored by Nashville Woman magazine for showing how one woman can make a difference by following her dream and for encouraging others to have the courage and confidence follow theirs.  She was also recognized by many other business organizations for her outstanding achievements during the course of her career as the name and face of the company.

A friend of education, Mrs. Grissom was an ardent supporter and benefactor of many educational institutions in Tennessee and sponsored the Excellence in Education Awards program throughout Tennessee in 2004, awarding financial aid to Tennessee’s outstanding educators to help them provide the best resources for their students.

She is survived by husband Frank Evans and son-in-law Kenneth Funger, both of Nashville; sister Gladys Tallent of Columbus, Ohio; nephew Jack McGhee of Nolensville and niece Sharon Eads of Spring Hill.

She is preceded in death by her late husband Herbert who helped launch and build the company’s retail network  until his death in 1998, their two daughters Herberta and Sylvia who passed away in 2012 and 2011 respectively.

Mrs. G. has always been very active in the Methodist Church and had attended Brentwood United Methodist Church since its beginnings.  She served on the Board of Trustees (including a period as Chairperson of the Board) of Martin Methodist College in Pulaski, Tennessee.  Her devotion to both Brentwood United and Martin Methodist were unrelenting.

Special thanks need to go to her two wonderful caregivers Jessie Hamby and DeAnna Hill who have helped make her last years more enjoyable.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made to Martin Methodist College.  433 West Madison Street , Pulaski, Tennessee  38478

Visitation is scheduled for Friday, May 31st from 5 -7 p.m. at the Brentwood United Methodist Church and at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning, June 1st with the funeral scheduled for 11 a.m.  Burial will be at Woodlawn Cemetary