The Washington Post
6 Nov 2003
WASHINGTON -- Jack C. Grigg, 83, a high-ranking Navy Department electrical engineer who helped make nuclear-powered vessels and power plants run well, died Nov.1 at his home in Silver Spring. He had Parkinson's disease.
Mr. Grigg was recruited to the Navy's Bureau of Ships during World War II and spent the next 36 years as a close associate of Adm. Hyman G. Rickover, considered the father of the nuclear Navy. He was among the small band of scientists and engineers the notoriously demanding Rickover relied on for his most challenging projects.
Mr. Grigg oversaw the design of instrumentation and control systems as well as electrical systems for the Navy's nuclear-powered ships and submarines. Much of his work required designing and building instrumentation to operate the reactor plants on nuclear-powered ships.
Such efforts were essential to preventing catastrophic accidents, such as reactors shutting down inadvertently under emergency shipboard conditions or a submarine losing its power underwater.
Mr. Grigg supervised the instrumentation system and electrical design for the USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear submarine, which was launched in 1954, as well as subsequent submarines, aircraft carriers and cruisers.
He did the same in the mid-1950s for the Shippingport Atomic Power Station, the nation's first commercial nuclear power plant, near Pittsburgh.
In the 1960s and 1970s, he had dual roles as director of the Bureau of Ships' nuclear control and instrumentation division and had a similar title in the office of the assistant secretary of energy for naval reactors. He was deeply involved in instrumentation research and development for the Navy's nuclear propulsion plants and land-based prototype reactor plants.
He retired in 1978 to do consulting work and was a recipient of the Navy's Distinguished Civilian Service Award.
Jack Clifton Grigg was born on a farm near the Texas Panhandle town of Tulia. As a teenager, he did farm work to support himself through college and also found work through the National Youth Administration, a New Deal program.
After graduating from Texas Tech University in 1941 with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, he spent a year with Westinghouse Electric Corp. in Pittsburgh as part of a student training program.
At the Bureau of Ships, he was first assigned to the electrical branch and worked on motor control, switchgear and other devices to propel ships.
In 1952, he was working for Rickover on the submarines Nautilus and USS Seawolf. Two years later, he became director of the newly formed nuclear control and instrumentation division.
A colleague said Mr. Grigg's calm manner and his soft Texas twang was, at times, a valuable buffer against the voluble Rickover. In one case, he reminded a subordinate who had had an unpleasant encounter with Rickover that the admiral was likely to forget about any disagreement by the next day.
Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Magdalene Mayfield Grigg of Silver Spring; two daughters, Jeanine Lee of Potomac and Eileen Grigg of New York; and a grandson.
6 Nov 2003
WASHINGTON -- Jack C. Grigg, 83, a high-ranking Navy Department electrical engineer who helped make nuclear-powered vessels and power plants run well, died Nov.1 at his home in Silver Spring. He had Parkinson's disease.
Mr. Grigg was recruited to the Navy's Bureau of Ships during World War II and spent the next 36 years as a close associate of Adm. Hyman G. Rickover, considered the father of the nuclear Navy. He was among the small band of scientists and engineers the notoriously demanding Rickover relied on for his most challenging projects.
Mr. Grigg oversaw the design of instrumentation and control systems as well as electrical systems for the Navy's nuclear-powered ships and submarines. Much of his work required designing and building instrumentation to operate the reactor plants on nuclear-powered ships.
Such efforts were essential to preventing catastrophic accidents, such as reactors shutting down inadvertently under emergency shipboard conditions or a submarine losing its power underwater.
Mr. Grigg supervised the instrumentation system and electrical design for the USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear submarine, which was launched in 1954, as well as subsequent submarines, aircraft carriers and cruisers.
He did the same in the mid-1950s for the Shippingport Atomic Power Station, the nation's first commercial nuclear power plant, near Pittsburgh.
In the 1960s and 1970s, he had dual roles as director of the Bureau of Ships' nuclear control and instrumentation division and had a similar title in the office of the assistant secretary of energy for naval reactors. He was deeply involved in instrumentation research and development for the Navy's nuclear propulsion plants and land-based prototype reactor plants.
He retired in 1978 to do consulting work and was a recipient of the Navy's Distinguished Civilian Service Award.
Jack Clifton Grigg was born on a farm near the Texas Panhandle town of Tulia. As a teenager, he did farm work to support himself through college and also found work through the National Youth Administration, a New Deal program.
After graduating from Texas Tech University in 1941 with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, he spent a year with Westinghouse Electric Corp. in Pittsburgh as part of a student training program.
At the Bureau of Ships, he was first assigned to the electrical branch and worked on motor control, switchgear and other devices to propel ships.
In 1952, he was working for Rickover on the submarines Nautilus and USS Seawolf. Two years later, he became director of the newly formed nuclear control and instrumentation division.
A colleague said Mr. Grigg's calm manner and his soft Texas twang was, at times, a valuable buffer against the voluble Rickover. In one case, he reminded a subordinate who had had an unpleasant encounter with Rickover that the admiral was likely to forget about any disagreement by the next day.
Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Magdalene Mayfield Grigg of Silver Spring; two daughters, Jeanine Lee of Potomac and Eileen Grigg of New York; and a grandson.
The Washington Post
6 Nov 2003
WASHINGTON -- Jack C. Grigg, 83, a high-ranking Navy Department electrical engineer who helped make nuclear-powered vessels and power plants run well, died Nov.1 at his home in Silver Spring. He had Parkinson's disease.
Mr. Grigg was recruited to the Navy's Bureau of Ships during World War II and spent the next 36 years as a close associate of Adm. Hyman G. Rickover, considered the father of the nuclear Navy. He was among the small band of scientists and engineers the notoriously demanding Rickover relied on for his most challenging projects.
Mr. Grigg oversaw the design of instrumentation and control systems as well as electrical systems for the Navy's nuclear-powered ships and submarines. Much of his work required designing and building instrumentation to operate the reactor plants on nuclear-powered ships.
Such efforts were essential to preventing catastrophic accidents, such as reactors shutting down inadvertently under emergency shipboard conditions or a submarine losing its power underwater.
Mr. Grigg supervised the instrumentation system and electrical design for the USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear submarine, which was launched in 1954, as well as subsequent submarines, aircraft carriers and cruisers.
He did the same in the mid-1950s for the Shippingport Atomic Power Station, the nation's first commercial nuclear power plant, near Pittsburgh.
In the 1960s and 1970s, he had dual roles as director of the Bureau of Ships' nuclear control and instrumentation division and had a similar title in the office of the assistant secretary of energy for naval reactors. He was deeply involved in instrumentation research and development for the Navy's nuclear propulsion plants and land-based prototype reactor plants.
He retired in 1978 to do consulting work and was a recipient of the Navy's Distinguished Civilian Service Award.
Jack Clifton Grigg was born on a farm near the Texas Panhandle town of Tulia. As a teenager, he did farm work to support himself through college and also found work through the National Youth Administration, a New Deal program.
After graduating from Texas Tech University in 1941 with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, he spent a year with Westinghouse Electric Corp. in Pittsburgh as part of a student training program.
At the Bureau of Ships, he was first assigned to the electrical branch and worked on motor control, switchgear and other devices to propel ships.
In 1952, he was working for Rickover on the submarines Nautilus and USS Seawolf. Two years later, he became director of the newly formed nuclear control and instrumentation division.
A colleague said Mr. Grigg's calm manner and his soft Texas twang was, at times, a valuable buffer against the voluble Rickover. In one case, he reminded a subordinate who had had an unpleasant encounter with Rickover that the admiral was likely to forget about any disagreement by the next day.
Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Magdalene Mayfield Grigg of Silver Spring; two daughters, Jeanine Lee of Potomac and Eileen Grigg of New York; and a grandson.
6 Nov 2003
WASHINGTON -- Jack C. Grigg, 83, a high-ranking Navy Department electrical engineer who helped make nuclear-powered vessels and power plants run well, died Nov.1 at his home in Silver Spring. He had Parkinson's disease.
Mr. Grigg was recruited to the Navy's Bureau of Ships during World War II and spent the next 36 years as a close associate of Adm. Hyman G. Rickover, considered the father of the nuclear Navy. He was among the small band of scientists and engineers the notoriously demanding Rickover relied on for his most challenging projects.
Mr. Grigg oversaw the design of instrumentation and control systems as well as electrical systems for the Navy's nuclear-powered ships and submarines. Much of his work required designing and building instrumentation to operate the reactor plants on nuclear-powered ships.
Such efforts were essential to preventing catastrophic accidents, such as reactors shutting down inadvertently under emergency shipboard conditions or a submarine losing its power underwater.
Mr. Grigg supervised the instrumentation system and electrical design for the USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear submarine, which was launched in 1954, as well as subsequent submarines, aircraft carriers and cruisers.
He did the same in the mid-1950s for the Shippingport Atomic Power Station, the nation's first commercial nuclear power plant, near Pittsburgh.
In the 1960s and 1970s, he had dual roles as director of the Bureau of Ships' nuclear control and instrumentation division and had a similar title in the office of the assistant secretary of energy for naval reactors. He was deeply involved in instrumentation research and development for the Navy's nuclear propulsion plants and land-based prototype reactor plants.
He retired in 1978 to do consulting work and was a recipient of the Navy's Distinguished Civilian Service Award.
Jack Clifton Grigg was born on a farm near the Texas Panhandle town of Tulia. As a teenager, he did farm work to support himself through college and also found work through the National Youth Administration, a New Deal program.
After graduating from Texas Tech University in 1941 with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, he spent a year with Westinghouse Electric Corp. in Pittsburgh as part of a student training program.
At the Bureau of Ships, he was first assigned to the electrical branch and worked on motor control, switchgear and other devices to propel ships.
In 1952, he was working for Rickover on the submarines Nautilus and USS Seawolf. Two years later, he became director of the newly formed nuclear control and instrumentation division.
A colleague said Mr. Grigg's calm manner and his soft Texas twang was, at times, a valuable buffer against the voluble Rickover. In one case, he reminded a subordinate who had had an unpleasant encounter with Rickover that the admiral was likely to forget about any disagreement by the next day.
Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Magdalene Mayfield Grigg of Silver Spring; two daughters, Jeanine Lee of Potomac and Eileen Grigg of New York; and a grandson.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
