Obituary - James Theodore Grivetti
James Theodore Grivetti “Ted”, 76, longtime resident of Varina, and recent resident of Hanover, Virginia, passed away peacefully at his home on May 12, 2026.
He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend to many, and his presence and his “dad jokes” will be deeply missed.
Ted graduated from Varina High School in 1969 where he lettered in football and track. Ted was a lifelong member of Four Mile Creek Baptist, where he served as a deacon and Sunday School teacher. For over 40 years, he built homes in RVA. As a supervisor for Richmond and Hanover Habitat for Humanity, Ted was involved in the building of over 200 homes. On 9/11, Ted was in Indiana on a Habitat build with former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter. Ending his building career as a supervisor, he worked as a building inspector for the city of Richmond. After one year of college, he joined the U.S. Army where he and Peggy spent the first three years of their married life in Germany. While he and his wife Peggy had grown up together, starting in the cradle roll at Four Mile Creek Church, they married in July of 1971 and began to build a life together that includes their daughter Sarah (Jake), son Todd (Geoff), and three grandchildren; Gabe, Luke, and Hannah Grace.
In his free time, Ted loved hunting, gardening, raising animals on his Varina farm, riding his tractor - Mr. Holland, attending all of his grandchildren’s sporting events, and coaching softball at Freeman and Byrd High Schools. He loved fast-pitch softball and has continued to stay in touch with many of his former players. Even though he faced difficult medical challenges the last three years of his life, he remained strong in his faith knowing that God, the great physician, was in control of his life. For years, he had 2 Corinthians 5:1 on his truck’s license plate: "For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal home in heaven, not built by human hands.” While he spent his time on earth building homes for others, he is now residing in his heavenly home and continuing to make everyone laugh.
A celebration of life will be held at Four Mile Creek Baptist Church, 2950 New Market Road, Richmond, VA 23231, Saturday, May 30th at 11:00 with visitation at 9:30 and a reception to follow. A private inurnment will take place at the Canfield family cemetery for family only.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to Four Mile Creek Baptist Church or Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Relief.
