Born in
Lamar, Colorado, Grisham graduated from
Jordan High School in
Long Beach, California in 1940. He was a fighter pilot in the
United States Army Air Forces stationed in the
European theater of World War II from 1942 to 1946. During this time, his plane was shot down and he was a prisoner of war. In 1947, he received an associate degree from
Long Beach City College. In 1949, he earned a B.A. at
Whittier College, in
Whittier, California. He conducted graduate work at the
University of Southern California in
Los Angeles, California from 1950 to 1951. He was a teacher, a businessman, and he served as president of Wayne Grisham Realty from 1958 to 1978. He served as chairman of the board of directors of First Mutual Mortgage Co. from 1974 to 1978. He served as member of
La Mirada City Council from 1970 to 1978. He then served as mayor of
La Mirada from 1973 to 1974 and from 1977 to 1978. He served as a delegate to the California League of Cities and National League of Cities from 1970 to 1978.
Congress A Republican, Grisham was elected to the United States House of Representative in 1978, succeeding retiring incumbent
Del Clawson.
Later career and death He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1982, after redistricting combined his district with that of fellow Republican
David Dreier. He served as director of the
Peace Corps in
Nairobi,
Kenya, 1983. He was elected to the
California State Assembly in 1984 and was reelected in 1986. In 1987, he ran for the
California State Senate in a special election to succeed Democrat
Paul B. Carpenter, who resigned to become a member of the
California Board of Equalization, but was defeated by Democratic
Norwalk city councilman
Cecil Green. He was narrowly defeated for reelection to the state Assembly in 1988 by Democrat
Bob Epple, then a member of the
Cerritos College Board of Trustees. He was a resident of
La Mirada, California. ==Notes==