Byron Ward Grenfell

Loving husband, father and friend. From his early days on Maurice St., in Ishpeming, Byron was fascinated by anything mechanical. When he wasn’t ski jumping Suicide Hill, he could be seen taking the motor off his father’s lawn mower and attaching it to his bicycle, since he couldn’t afford a “Whizzer” motorized bicycle. This same passion would lead him into becoming a passionate Harley Owner. As he grew older, he took a liking to automobiles, and in order to learn as much about them as possible, took a job working for Johnny Lyons in body and fender repair. It was there that he became acquainted with “the art” of collision repair, stating many times that the work is in body preparation, rather than just the paint. Proud of the fact that he would use lead to repair dents rather than plastic body filler, or bondo, his meticulous nature complimented an almost “old-world-craftsman -like” attention to detail, which in the classic car world is a coveted trait.

Around this time he met Helen Mae Lundin and the two were married, they had two daughters, Cindy and Kim, settling on Croix St., in Negaunee. Byron not only began to make a name for himself in body and fender repair but also in custom auto building. He opened his own shop in Ishpeming, later moving to a larger building in north Negaunee. The Peninsula Pistons was a local group of auto aficionados and would meet regularly, planning their next projects and sponsoring local car shows at the Ishpeming Armory. His name began to spread outside of the local region as the quality of his work was seen at car shows across the Upper and Lower Midwest. Eventually, Byron teamed with famed designer Harry Bradley to produce a Dodge Duster that was commissioned in Detroit to be part of the Rapid Transit Marketing Plan. These customized muscle cars were created by different designers and builders and then toured all over the USA. The Rapid Transit team included a Barracuda, a Charger, a Challenger, a Road Runner, and a Duster that would tour the country stopping at various Dodge and Plymouth dealerships. This Duster was later bought by famed collector Steve Juliano and later auctioned and sold at Meekum Auctions in Indianapolis. When Byron visited Steve’s home in New York, he asked Byron to autograph his firewall. Byron also had the opportunity to restore some of the rarest of cars: classic Rolls-Royces, Jaguars, Gull-Wing Mercedes, and even a Tucker. Early in the ’80s Byron and Helen chose to move to California, where he initially took a job working in the restoration facility of J. B. Nethercutt, the co-founder of Merle Norman Cosmetics. Later, he took a job managing the restoration of the many cars of an individual collector from Milwaukee.

Survived by loving wife: Helen Grenfell, whom he married on April 8th, 1958, daughters: Cindy Saylor and Kim Kresch, sons-in-law: Joe Kresch and Tim Saylor – brother and sister-in-law: Ted and Kathy Lundin, grandchildren: Keith and Heather, Korey and Nicole, Nicole and Charlie, Lindsay and Kyle, Michael, Sevanah, Sariah and Sofia, great-grandchildren: River, London, Madeline, Abel and Aiden, grandpups: Hotsauce, Barbara, Luther, Maci and Maserati.