Herbert Grench
Oct. 4, 1932-Dec. 19, 2024
Davis, California

Herbert Allan Grench passed away on Dec. 19, 2024, after a long, adventurous and remarkable life. He was born October 4, 1932, in Elmwood Park, IL. He grew up in Brookfield, IL, with his parents, Viola and John Grench, and siblings John, Robert, Gloria, and Carol.

Herb attended Kalamazoo College where he took an ornithology class, sparking a lifelong passion for birding and for his classmate Norma, whom he would later marry. He graduated with a degree in physics, before going on to earn his master's and PhD from the University of Iowa in the same field. He married Norma Lee Durham, a native Iowan, while at school there in 1954. Several years later Paul, their first son, was born.

After a stint at Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago for a year, Herb took a job doing nuclear physics research at Lockheed in Palo Alto, California. There, they had their second son, Bruce Grench.

Herb was an ardent conservationist, after learning to love nature walking the trails of Illinois with his mother as a child. He served as a Palo Alto planning commission member, a leader in the local Audubon society chapter and on the Committee for Green Foothills, amongst other pursuits. He changed careers in 1973, taking the job as the first general manager for the Midpeninsula Open Space District and went on to help preserve 30,000 acres of wild land for future Californians. He also helped create the Peninsula Open Space Trust, a vital force in land conservation even today.

In 2015, his work was commemorated when a trail and lookout at the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve —which he helped preserve for wildlife and the enjoyment of future generations of Californians— was given his name. That same year, he scaled the trail with his sons’ families at Thanksgiving – a treasured memory for his loved ones.

After he retired, he led an active life leading group tours for the Sierra Club in far-flung places including Ecuador, Chile, Tanzania, and the wildlands and rivers of the United States. (Some included rafting in Alaska and the Grand Canyon.)

He showed so many people the joys of nature, birding, hiking, fishing and travel – but none more than his sons and grandchildren, who maintain his sense of adventure and care for wild places. His passion for birding with his wife, Norma, continued no matter the locale, and he would keep a keen eye out for birds big and small no matter where he might be, including through the binoculars they would take to the baseball stadium.

Through his example as a professional and a father, his family learned that hard work and good works are key to a life well-lived.

He was loved dearly will be missed by his wife, Norma, son Paul (Carol), and all his grandchildren: Eileen, Holly, Eva, Lincoln and Giselle Grench.

If you wish, please send a donation to the Midpeninsula Open Space District, Peninsula Open Space Trust or Sempervirens Fund.

Tags: public service