12/30/1938 – 10/3/2026
Lawrence
Lawrence has lost one of its most dedicated optimists, a visionary Realtor turned developer and lifelong champion of the city’s green spaces. John McGrew, 87, died peacefully on October 3, 2026, with his family at his side.
John’s story began beside the Kansas River. Born at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, he grew up in the Pinckney neighborhood, in a small home on Indiana Street a couple hundred yards from the Kaw. On his daily walks to school, Barbara Hodgson, who grew to be a lifelong friend, always made sure he crossed the street safely. Outside of school, John earned the name “Nature Boy,” fished with his best friend, Larry Smith, and wandered the riverbanks with his faithful Black Lab, a companion he was never without after age three.
His father, Conrad, died when John was 14, but not before teaching him to hunt, fish, and fend for himself, lessons that shaped the determined man he became. After graduating from Lawrence High School in 1956, John joined Phi Gamma Delta and earned a business degree from the University of Kansas in 1960, continuing a Jayhawk legacy that now spans four generations.
At 21, he became the youngest licensed broker in Kansas that year and joined his widowed mother, Viola, at McGrew Real Estate, where he served as president and CEO until 2007. He would be the first to admit he was no natural salesman, so he learned, taking the Dale Carnegie course and later insisting his children and entire staff do the same. Colleagues remember a creative problem solver who always arrived with at least ten ideas.
In the ‘60s, that imagination led him to partner with his friend Bob Billings and create Alvamar. Bob brought the vision and the capital, and John brought the innovation and marketing. Through it all, he had the steadfast support of Nancy Brenn, his devoted administrative assistant for 47 years, whom the family holds in deep gratitude.
John gave his time as generously as his talent. He served as president of the Lawrence Humane Society, Insurance Board, Board of Realtors, and Chamber of Commerce, and as a director of Family Promise and a longtime board member of Douglas County Bank and the KU Biodiversity Institute. His contributions earned many honors, including Realtor of the Year, LHS Alumni Association Hall of Honor, the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame, the Chamber’s Citizen of the Year Award, and the Kansas Recreation and Park Association’s Distinguished Public Service Award.
Above all, John gave back to the land that shaped him. He donated property to several public spaces: the Viola & Conrad McGrew Nature Preserve, Sandra Shaw Park, Kanza Southwind Nature Preserve, the Pat Dawson Billings Nature Area, and Oregon Trail Park. John helped rename Sandra Shaw Park, home to the Outside for a Better Inside trail, in honor of Dr. Sandra J. Shaw, longtime Bert Nash CEO. In retirement, inspired by Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods, he founded Outside for a Better Inside, a nonprofit built on deep reverence for nature and a goal of connecting Lawrence’s children with it. He handed out more than 100 copies of the book and served on the Baker Wetlands Advisory Committee. His advice was simple: for the earth, plant a tree and dig a pond.
John lived what he preached and was a picture of health. He took up tennis at 35, competed in tournaments, and earned a Missouri Valley ranking, playing daily until he was 84. After a visit to the Cooper Clinic in his 40s, he became a devoted runner. As a founder of the Alvamar Joggers, he ran every day for 25 years. When it came time to hang up his racquet, he added a pickleball court to his Bozeman home and quickly took to that game too.
Nature remained his compass. He was happiest fly fishing, bird hunting, and tending his backyard gardens, where his Montana sweet peas were remarkable. He explored as many national parks as possible, studied the night sky, and could name any tree or bird silhouette wherever he traveled. He had a gift for verse and could recite classic poems from memory, including “The Shooting of Dan McGrew,” “Invictus,” and “Don’t Quit.” He gladly shared them with his children and anyone who asked.
John always found reasons to laugh. He was endlessly proud of his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and adored his wife Rita, and most recent Labrador, Meg. His optimism ran deep, and the Optimist Creed he inherited from his grandfather hung on his wall for decades. His guiding principles were simple: for your health, move; for your mind, meditate; for your soul, nature; for your relationships, kindness; and for the earth, plant a tree and dig a pond.
John is survived by his wife, Rita; his son, Michael McGrew (Christine); his daughter, Marcy Eudaly (Steven); and Jill McGrew, the mother of his children. He also leaves four grandchildren, John McGrew (Kaitlyn Dewell), Nicole McGrew (Austin Sehorn), Ryan Robinson (Joanna), and Adam Eudaly, and two great-grandchildren, Merritt and Lydia Robinson. He is also survived by his sister, Patty McGrew; her daughter, Anne (Jonathan), and their children, William and Emily; and Nancy Brenn, his longtime assistant. He was preceded in death by his parents, Conrad and Viola, and his second wife, Melynn McGrew.
A community celebration of life will be held Thursday, December 17, 4:00pm to 6:30pm at Abe and Jake’s Landing in Lawrence, KS. A Memorial Mass will be held Friday, December 11, at 1:30 pm at St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center in Lawrence, KS. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial gifts to Outside for a Better Inside; in keeping with John’s belief that every child deserves the outdoors. Memorials may be sent in care of Warren-McElwain Mortuary
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