(Chelsea Update thanks the Chelsea Community Fair Board and Staffan-Mitchell Funeral Home for some of the information for this story.)
Longtime Chelsea Community Fair board member Lloyd A. Grau, 85, passed away on Sunday, May 15, 2022.
And fair won’t be the same without his steady presence.
Mr. Grau was one of the founders of the fair, a member of the fair board for more than 50 years, and on a personal note, helped me tremendously trusting me with several scrapbooks chronicling the history of fair. Please read this story and this story.
When we’d cross paths and I called him Mr. Grau, and he’d remind me that I could call him Lloyd.
I never did.
Year after year, Mr. Grau it always was. And year after year, he’d tell me it was OK to call him Lloyd. I think it became a bit of a running joke between us.
I considered it as my way of showing him respect. Respect because he always made time to speak with me, to help me to appreciate and better understand the history and many traditions of not only fair, but of the agricultural roots of this community.
He instilled in his family a passion for continued support and commitment to fair and its importance to the local farming community. Including the importance of teaching and upholding those traditions by mentoring younger generations.
For the 20-plus years that I’ve covered fair, he was always helpful, patient and gracious — even when I peppered him with question after question about all things fair. I learned something new from him each and every year.
Born on his family’s farm in Sylvan Township on July 1, 1936, Mr. Grau was the son of Arthur W. and Rubena (Stabler) Grau, according to his obituary.
Funeral Services will be held at Zion Lutheran Church on Thursday, May 19, 2022, 11 a.m. with Pastor Kurt Hutchens officiating. Burial will follow at Zion Lutheran Church Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Chelsea Community Fair or Zion Lutheran Church.
Mr. Grau lived in Chelsea his entire life and graduated from Chelsea High School in the Class of 1954. He was also a student in Chelsea’s one-room schoolhouse and I had such fun chatting with he and the other students while doing a little story about a reunion of those who attended this school over the years.
Mr. Grau graduated from Michigan State University and worked as a farmer his entire life, always supporting the Chelsea Community in many ways.
A true gentleman with a love and passion for his family, his country, and Chelsea, Mr. Grau will be missed by everyone who called him a friend.
Fair won’t be the same for me this year knowing that I won’t see his smile and learn something new from our conversations. But I will pause and greet Mr. Grau at the special rock that commemorates all those hardworking fair board members who passed before him.
I believe they’ve all found each other and are now holding heavenly fair board meetings because their legacies continue each August and will never be forgotten.
Mr. Grau’s full obituary can be found here.
