June 4, 1949 – June 24, 2019
Clifford Allan Grasman passed away peacefully on June 24, at 9:28pm surrounded by his family. He and his wife Celeste had recently moved to Colorado Springs after residing in South Africa for the past five and a half years. Cliff had been retired for 6 years.
Cliff was born on June 4, 1947 in Long Beach, California. He enjoyed his childhood in Lakewood before moving with his family at age 15, to Chino, California. He spent some of his youth working on the dairy farms and later driving trucks for hay companies in the area.
He was a highly capable handyman and had jobs as a welder, and then as a painter and janitor at Pomona First Baptist. One of his favorite hobbies, besides fishing was cooking and he often treated his family members to gourmet meals. He was also an avid reader with Tom Clancy as his favorite author.
In 1996, Cliff took his passion for cooking to another level as he joined Logos II (a missionary ship) to volunteer as a cook onboard. He and his team prepared meals daily for 200 people. He honed his skills as a chef by studying to receive his Ship Cook Certificate in England. But one of Cliff’s greatest joys onboard was meeting and falling in love with his future wife, Celeste (from South Africa) who he married in 1998.
He and Celeste continued to serve in missions both in Belgium and England where Cliff was head Chef. In 2005 they left the mission field to take care of Cliff’s aging parents in Chino, California. While there he worked at Azusa Pacific University as Senior Manager for the five eating facilities on campus.
In 2013, he fulfilled a promise to his wife by moving to South Africa so she could be near family. They lived there until 2019 before moving to Colorado Springs. And it was there that Cliff went home to be with the Lord.
He is survived by his loving wife, Celeste, his two brothers, Duane and Darrel Grasman (wives, Margaret and Kathy), his 2 stepdaughters, Marie and Danelle, 4 grandchildren, 6 nieces and nephews and 11 great nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at Prospect Lake in Colorado Springs on Saturday, June 29 at 10:30 am