■ 1927 – 2020
■ Dr. Buel King Grow, Jr. died on December 11 at the age of 93.
Born in Beckley, West Virginia, Dr. Grow had resided in Montgomery Township, for more than 35 years before he and his wife Anne Grinnell Grow moved to Meadow Lakes Senior Living Community.
Preceded in death by his parents (Buel King Grow and Freda Webb Grow), he leaves behind his cherished wife Anne Grow and five children: Linda DeStefano (husband Bill) of Hopewell; John G. Grow of Havre, Montana; Susan Jefferson of Hopewell; Nancy Silvester (husband Dave) of Hopewell; and Mary Grow of Cincinnati, Ohio.
He is also survived by seven grandchildren: Daniel (wife Jen), David and Kevin DeStefano, Karrie (husband Phill) and Sam Jefferson, Shannon and Erin Silvester; and three great grandchildren: Emmie and Grant DeStefano, and Penelope Jefferson Beer.
Dr. Grow grew up in Raleigh, NC, where he met his wife Anne in sixth grade. A talented and accomplished athlete in his youth, Dr. Grow was a member of the track & field and football teams at Needham Broughton High School in Raleigh. He was a three-event (110 m Hurdles, High Jump, Shot Put) North Carolina High School Track and Field State Champion in 1945.
Dr. Grow earned his B.S. in medicine from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. He played on UNC’s football team for two years, participated in their 1947 Sugar Bowl game against Georgia in New Orleans, and was a life long fan of the Tar Heels.
Dr. Grow headed north to earn his M.D. from Harvard Medical School. In 1952 he graduated from medical school and married Anne Louise Grinnell on the same June weekend.
After two years of internal medicine training at Boston City Hospital, he joined the U.S. Air Force and served as a 2nd Lieutenant for two years at the James Connally Air Force Hospital in Waco, Texas. Thereafter, he completed his psychiatry residency at Yale University School of Medicine.
Dr. Grow and Anne raised their young children in Orange, CT while he worked in private practice and held teaching appointments at Yale University School of Medicine.
In 1969, Dr. Grow moved his family to New Jersey to begin serving as a psychiatrist at Carrier Foundation in Belle Mead, a position he held for many years.
Dr. Grow (known as B.K. to family and friends) enjoyed sailing whether it was racing his Snipe with his daughters in the 70s, sailing Long Island Sound in his O’Day 28 with Anne often at his side, or getting out on Lake Carnegie in his sunfish or kayak.
In retirement, he took up watercolor painting, Elderhostel travel, audited Princeton University classes, and enjoyed September trips to Port Clyde, Maine with Anne. He was an avid sports fan throughout his life who enjoyed both college and professional sports, as well as attending his grandchildren’s sporting events. His family was his treasure and he was a much-loved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
Dr. Grow was a long-time member of Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton. A memorial service will be held at a later date when his whole family can gather.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Cromwell-Immordino Memorial Home, 2560 Pennington Rd, Pennington NJ. Condolences may be made to CromwellImmordinoMemorialHome.com. ■
