Paul Bennett Grisso, Jr. – Sergeant, United States Army

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Anna Dobrzanska Grisso, 72, a retired hospital architect, was killed in a February 26, 2003, car crash near Port Republic, Maryland, and her husband, retired Navy personnel analyst Paul Bennett Grisso Jr., 79, died of a heart attack March 1, 2003, while being treated for spinal and head injuries at Washington Hospital Center.

The Calvert County sheriff’s office said Mrs. Grisso was driving north on Route 4 from their Lusby home when their Toyota Camry hit a patch of ice and crossed the median. A pickup truck hit the car on the driver’s side, killing Mrs. Grisso. A second pickup then struck the rear of the Ford pickup. No one in the trucks was injured.

The Grissos, who volunteered for a number of organizations, were on their way to usher at a Washington Opera performance at Constitution Hall. They had been ushers at Arena Stage for more than 13 years, and Mr. Grisso also volunteered for the Smithsonian Institution.

Mr. Grisso was a native of Washington and a graduate of Eastern High School and the University of Iowa. He served in the Army in Europe during World War II and was captured in the Battle of the Bulge. He spent six months as a prisoner of war in Germany.

He began his career in 1949 as a cost-of-living survey supervisor with the Labor Department. He later worked for the Air Force and as a federal job analyst for federal agencies. From 1977 to 1980, he worked at the Navy Surface Warfare Center in White Oak. He retired in 1983 as coordinator of the center’s employee assistance program and handicapped job placement.

Mrs. Grisso was a native of Poland and a graduate of the Warsaw Polytechnic Institute. In the mid-1950s, she was the women’s national sailing champion of Poland. Before settling in Washington in 1965, she did architectural work on hospitals in Syria and Paris.

She was employed by architectural firms in the Washington area whose clients included Holy Cross, Prince George’s and George Washington hospitals, suburban Maryland school systems and the University of Maryland.

Mrs. Grisso designed buildings for Montgomery County and the Alexandria Courthouse renovation for the General Services Administration before going to work for the Army Health Facility and Planning Agency in 1985. Her work there included renovations to Walter Reed Army Medical Center and military hospitals around the world. She retired in 1998.

The Grissos, who moved from Wheaton to Lusby in 1986, shared a love of skiing and sailing.

They met in 1965 as volunteers for the National Ski Patrol and were active with ski patrols for decades afterward. They were founders of the Wanderlusters Sailing Club in Annapolis and members of the Southern Maryland Sailing Association.

He was cruise governor of the association and taught knot-tying to sailing students and at the Calvert Marine Museum. He was also a member of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, the American Legion and the U.S. Prisoners of War.

Mrs. Grisso’s interests also included painting and gardening. She was a member of the Calvert Garden Club.

Mr. Grisso’s first marriage, to Elisabeth W. Grisso, ended in divorce.

The Grissos are survived by two daughters, Kasia Grisso of El Cerrito, California, and Susan Grisso de Ortega of Mexico City; and two grandchildren. Also surviving are Mr. Grisso’s mother, M. Georgia Brennan of St. Petersburg, Florida, and Mrs. Grisso’s brother, Andrew Dobranski of Fairfax County.

RISSO, PAUL BENNETT, JR. 
GRISSO, ANNA DOBRZANSKA 

ANNA DOBRZANSKA GRISSO on February 26, 2003 and PAUL BENNETT GRISSO, JR. on March 1, 2003 as a result of a tragic accident. Parents of Kasia Grisso and Susan Grisso de Ortega; grandparents of Sebastian and Anna Emilia Ortega Grisso and one expected sibling. They were also survived by Anna’s brother, Andrew Dobranski, his wife, Alicia and son, Anthony. Interment with Military Honors at Arlington National Cemetery 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 11, 2003.

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