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Sorry to report the passing of a great boat racer, machinist & friend, Elmer was 96. When I first met Elmer, I was visiting his home in St. Clair Shores & remember opening his 5 car garage full of Quincy's, Lon Stevens' & other Merc deflector's of his own modification. There were hydro's everywhere! What a sight to a 12 year old. From then on he became my mentor. On future visits to his home in Florida, he tought me how to use a lathe & rebuild Konigs. My first "Alky" ride was with one of his engines. He was a tremendous contributor to the APBA and great competitor. I should also not leave out the fact that at every boat race, he went out of his way to not miss Mass on Sunday! I'm sure he's in Boat Racing Heaven.
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Sorry to hear of Elmers passing Hope he is in heaven before the devil finds out (if you knew him you will understand this comment,,right Tim)
He is with his Grace now and another legend is in boatracing heaven.
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Elmer was a fine and generous man who loved boat racing. I remember one evening, in DePue, when we were all heading off to the bar and stopped in Elmers room on the way. There sat Elmer up in the bed reading the bible whils we heathens were off to the bar.!"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to dance in the rain."
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Reat in Peace.............
I remember as a teenager John Yale cranking out boat after boat for Elmer............the shamrock green paintjobs and the stacked boats on the trailer were a thing of beauty to a real boat racer.
Matt
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Yes Matt that was--I bought the trailer about 1986 right after Elmer stopped.Originally posted by Matt Dagostino View Post
Used it for over 10 years an then converted it to enclosed--sold to a skimobile guy and believe he is still using it todayComment
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Elmer Grade Services
Services for Elmer are at Kraaer Funeral Home in Pompano Beach Florida. Viewing will be tonight starting at 6 PM. A mass will be held tommorrow at St. Pauls Catholic Church In Lighthouse Point Florida at 12 pm.
Elmer loved boat racing and was instrumental in many of the advancements made to Pro racing engines. I drove for Elmer for years in the 1980s, and he was always trying something new to go faster. ELMERS FLEET was our team name, and everything was painted green, (my boats are still Elmer green). His wife Grace was a real irish women and made sure everything was always green. We won many National Championships with Jim Stone, Jerry Kirts, Jeff Hutchins, and myself driving. No matter where the race was, Elmer always found a church to go to mass on Sunday before the races. He lived and long and eventful life, with many children, grand chidren, and great grand children. God bless Elmer and his family.Comment
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Elmer Grade.
I am sorry to hear of Elmer's passing, I first met Elmer in in 1968, I was having turning problems with my hydro and he determined it was the skid fin and he made up some fins and work with me until the boat turned correctly.
and yes, the garage at his house in St.Clair, filled with boats and alot of merc/quincy deflector motors.
"...if your not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space"
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Very sorry to hear that Elmer passed away. Like you guys said, Elmer was a great innovator. He had one of the most successful teams of his day and fielded top and very talented and successful drivers. Elmer and my Dad and I were good friends and he was a big supporter of helping to develope international racing. His boats, drivers, pit crews were all professional looking and put on an image and style that a lot of us were working on to make alky racing more presentable to the media. Elmer was one hell of a competitor and great guy. Tim, please pass on our condolences to his family, and God Bless you Elmer and rest in peace.Last edited by master oil racing; 01-13-2011, 08:18 AM.Comment
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Fortunate
Was lucky when Gene Apel teamed me up with Elmer and his lovely partner Grace back in the 70s,incredable team they were.Two great years seeing them daily and then racing every weekend we got a chance, The edition of the Small family and Jim Stone made it that much more fun.Originally posted by Joe Tomaini View Post
Joe, ifyou have a # for his daughter Jane or grandsons Brian or Mike let me know.
Great times and memoriesComment
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Rip
May Elmer rest in peace. A great person.Dave Mason
Just A Boat Racer
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Seems to me that Elmer Grade made and sold a bolt-on ignition system for the Konig fours in the mid-Seventies that was considered a big improvement. Could someone tell about that?
And didn't he win an FOH championship after he had turned sixty? Maybe I'm thinking of somebody else.Last edited by Smitty; 01-22-2011, 11:52 PM.
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Memories
This posting is a little late, better late then never. I first met Elmer in the late 70's.I don't recall what race it was, only that I was very impressed with him, his equipment and knowledge of racing. Several of the PRO drivers discussed the possibility of asking Elmer to run for PRO VP. I approached Elmer with the idea and he agreed to run. The most prominent thing I remember about the campaign was the campaign pins we had made. The pin said "Upgrade PRO Vote Elmer Grade", of course the colors were Green and white. Elmer won VP and made a great PRO VP. There is no doubt that Elmer did a tremendous job in upgrading PRO Division. Elmer's equipment, drivers, and appearance were always top notch. I bought a 350 CCH Shumacher hydro from Elmer. I had to go to his home in Pompano Beach. I was awe struck with the amount of equipment, machines, and racing paraphernalia he had. In his office there was a wall with between 50 and 100 props on it. Some of then made with Titanium. The boat turned out to be the best boat I ever had.
Anyway, Elmer is gone but he will never be forgotten.
RoyRoy ConklinComment
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