In Memoriam
Joseph W. Grier, Jr.
1915 -- 2010

Joseph W. Grier, Jr., a founding member of the firm and a leading Charlotte attorney whose career spanned nearly 70 years, died on December 23, 2010. He was 95.

Mr. Grier was a graduate of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Harvard Law School. After clerking for the Honorable John J. Parker of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and serving his country in World War II, Mr. Grier began his practice of law in Charlotte. For almost 40 years, Mr. Grier was a senior partner with Grier, Parker, Poe, Thompson, Bernstein, Gage & Preston, LLP. Upon retiring from that firm in 1983, he formed Grier & Grier, PA, now Grier Furr & Crisp, PA, where he practiced for more than 20 years.

Mr. Grier served as president of the Mecklenburg County Bar and was a member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference and the American Law Institute. He also served as vice president and a member of the Board of Governors of the North Carolina Bar Association, was elected to the General Practice Hall of Fame, and received the Professionalism Award from the North Carolina Chief Justice.

Throughout his life, Mr. Grier was a vital force in the Charlotte community. He served as Chairman of the Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation Commission in the 1960s and played a pivotal role in ensuring that all citizens had equal access to area recreational facilities. He was an active member and Elder of First Presbyterian Church in Charlotte and served as a member of the Permanent Judicial Commission of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Mr. Grier was, at his passing, a Trustee of the Metropolitan Board of the YMCA of Greater Charlotte and Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees of Queens University.

Mr. Grier brought to his practice of law the utmost professionalism, an astounding breadth of knowledge, a keen sense of judgment, and a remarkable ability to connect on a personal level with his clients. Our lives are better for knowing him, and we will miss him dearly.