- Date Of Birth: October 30, 1922
- Date Of Death: March 19, 2012
- State: Idaho
John Watson Grow, 89, of Boise, Idaho passed away peacefully at home on Monday, March 19, 2012 following a long illness. John was born October 30, 1922, in Roanoke, Virginia, the second of two children to John W. and Olivia Grow. He attended elementary and high school in Roanoke.
John always had a dream and love for flying airplanes and enlisted in the Army Air Corp in 1942. He met his beloved wife Anita while on a blind date in Albuquerque. They married eight months later on December 1, 1945. He was a devoted husband to his wife Anita for 64 years. Anita preceded him in death, January, 2009. “Dude”, a nickname given to him by his mother, will always be remembered as a wonderful and caring husband and father to his five boys while serving a distinguished career as a pilot and commander in the USAF.
Col. Grow’s outstanding career included 31 combat missions in the European Theater during WW II, the Berlin Airlift, Korea, and Viet Nam. During these times he served in many positions including communications officer, bomber pilot, instructor pilot, squadron commander and base commander. Col. Grow retired in 1973 as Wing Commander at Yokota Air Force Base in Japan.
During his military career, some of his many commendations included the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with Four Oak Leaf Clusters, Bronze Star, and the Air Force Commendation Medal. Col. Grow’s career accomplishments were based on a high school education. Upon retirement he and Anita moved to the Boise Valley. Always believing in the importance of education, he returned to school and graduated from Boise State University with his son Robert in 1979.
He is survived by his five boys and their wives: Charles and Barbara Silkwood, Alabama; Randy and Christy Grow, Florida; Jim and Dayna Grow, Nampa; Robert and Trudy Grow, Rhode Island; and Wesley and Sunny Grow, Boise. He is also survived by seven grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
