Longtime Seal Beach resident and Seal Beach Lions Club member Nancy Grgas-Jezak passed away Monday evening, March 3, after a long battle with cancer.
Grgas was a 20-plus year member of the Seal Beach Lions and is credited with starting the organizations’ youth arm – The Leos Club, and had a long and varied record of community service, club membership affiliations, and an involvement in local political issues – in which she was said to always take “the high ground.”
Nancy Grgas was married to Victor Grgas, who served on the Seal Beach City Council and as the city’s mayor during some of the city’s most tempestuous times of political unrest.
As a member of the Seal Beach Lions Club she served as Leo advisor for 10 years and was a Melvin Jones Fellow – a high honor within the organization.
According to her friend and fellow Lion Scott Newton, in speaking about how the Leos got started, she said: “Rather than telling kids what not to do, let’s give them something to do.
For her entire life in Seal Beach she was an active community activist. In her professional life she also worked in the realm of childcare and was certified to license preschools. She was concerned about the scarcity of preschools in Seal Beach and had hoped to save Under The Rainbow Preschool, which was held in the old Zoeter School building that was demolished to make way for Zoeter Center.
The following is a list of Nancy Grgas’ many accomplishments and organization affiliations as provided by her husband, Victor Grgas.
• Served as Vic’s campaign manager for his election in 1982. Also worked full time and was pregnant with first child (Jeffrey) during the campaign.
• Seal Beach Pier (1983 – 86) – Worked countless hours with Emily Frazier Allenbaugh, Councilwoman Joyce Risner, Daisy Funk, Nancy Kredell, Barbara Wright, Barbara Barton, and many other Seal Beach women to organize fundraisers. Helped raise over $200,000 in local donations. Helped organize the “Pier Celebration Party” at the Hyatt Marina (now Seaport Marina) Hotel at which Vic’s rock band (The Meteor’s) played. Over 300 people attended. Vic became known as the “Singing Mayor of Orange County” after that.
• Zoeter School – Led the charge to save ” Under the Rainbow” preschool. Vic pushed City Council to purchase the entire site. Money borrowed from State to buy baseball fields and pre-school buildings, but not enough to buy the main school building and auditorium. Vic pushed City Council to buy the Main buildings anyway, then to lease them to a developer to rehabilitate and reuse the buildings provided they maintained the original footprint and preserve the historical integrity of the exterior. Under The Rainbow could not afford to pay much rent, so they were looking at having to leave, Nancy fought hard to keep them there and to make rent affordable and equitable.
• Helped save “Water Safe Swim School” (Across from St. Anne’s Church). Nancy felt that Seal Beach kid’s (especially toddlers) needed to learn to be safe swimmers.
About 25 years ago, the school was threatened with closure because of lack of parking associated with the use when the then new owner (Ginny Furguson) was trying to purchase the business. Nancy worked with City Planning staff and with St. Anne’s Church leadership to allow patrons of the swim school to use some of the church parking lot during the weekdays. She recently (within the last year) went to bat for the Swim School once more to get the church / Arch Diocese to agree to an extension of the parking agreement so that the Swim School could renew its expiring Conditional Use Permit. Literally, thousands of kids have learned to swim there through the years.
• Seal Beach Lions – Along with Seal Beach Women’s Lions Club members Ellen Liebherr and Linda Stobbe, and with the support of the Seal Beach Men’s Lions Club President Jim Klisanin, Nancy helped found the SB Leo’s club 25 years ago. It is now one of the most successful Leo’s in Lion’s International
• President Of Seal Beach Coordinating Council – Tired of always finding out that events within the City were often conflicting (i.e., dates, times, etc.) with each other, and that many times people just didn’t know about them, Nancy created the Seal Beach Coordinating Council where she worked with the Seal Beach Journal (now Sun Newspaper) to prepare and publish a monthly community calendar of events.
• Helped establish “Seal Beach CARES,” an organization dedicated to preventing substance abuse through the auspices of the Drug, Alcohol, Tobacco Advisory Committee (DATE) of the Los Alamitos Unified school District.
• Member of the Republican’s Women’s Club—Although a life-long Democrat, Nancy worked in support of many local Republican officials including State Assemblyman Jim Silva.
• Seal Beach Tot Lot – Raised funds, organized, etc., to help build the tot lot at the beach near the pier.
• Seal Beach 75th Birthday Celebration—Member of the Organizing Committee.
• Served as campaign Co-chair for Vic’s City Council re-election (1986). Also worked full time and was pregnant with 2nd child (Steven) during the campaign.
• Seal Beach 90th Birthday Celebration – Helped Vic (Fundraising Chairman) raise over $90,000 in contributions for that event.
• Los Alamitos Education Foundation – Raised over $100K for new computer technology
• Los Alamitos Grad Night – Raised money, organized parent meetings, arranged food, entertainment for graduating seniors as a safe alternative to celebrate high school graduation.
• Los Alamitos Youth Center – Organized and chaperoned safe alternative Friday night teen dances and fun nights.
• Participated in PTA’s at McGaugh Elementary, Oak Middle School and Los Alamitos High Schools
• Community Representative for the Seal Beach Cooperative Playgroup (Marina Center).
• Helped organize and get contributions for the Seal Beach Kids Baseball Association Annual Ice Cream Social Fundraisers
• International Friendship Association (Sister Cities)—Attended first official visitation of Todos Santos, Baja California. Officially met with then Governor of Baja California Sur.
• Los Al Basketball Booster’s Club – Treasurer, Raised over $40,000 selling x-mas wreaths annually
• Los Al Volleyball Booster’s Club – Helped raise support funds for team.
• Team mom – Roaddoggs Basketball Travel Team (Played out of Jordan High School)
• Seal Beach Junior Guard – Helped support.
• Helped organize 2006 Easter Parade, events, etc.
• OC Registrar of Voters—Served as Precinct Official since 2008
• Therapy Dogs International – Cavalier’s Breakfast Club. Nancy loved her King Charles Cavalier Spaniels (Sammy and Della), a very special, sweet and calm disposition breed. Nancy became interested in doing therapy work through the Southern California Chapter of Dog Therapy International. She and Sammy became certified to do visits at hospitals and senior care centers where she visited often. She especially loved visiting seniors.
Vitals:
Born: Nancy Jezak, August 21, 1950, Long Beach, California
Married to Victor Grgas on July 7, 1979 (First met in 1977)
Two Sons: Jeffrey (b-1982) & Steven (b-1986)
Daughter-in-law, Jennifer (Sliwa) Grgas
Grandchildren: Kiley (age 2), Avery (born February 26, 2014)
Graduate of CSULB -1973, BS-Criminology
Professional work –Probation Officer (Over 15 years total with both LA and Orange County Probation Departments). Subsequently, over 20 years with State Dept of. Social Services – Child Day Care Facilities Licensing Analyst.
