Private Richard P. Grotefeld grew up at 1210 Curtiss in Downers Grove and graduated in 1944 from Downers Grove High School. He had flown overseas in the Airforce for one year. Before the war, he was a driver; a semi-skilled chauffeur. He handled trucks, buses as well as tractors. He was 20 years old and died on September 18, 1946, of injuries suffered from a serious fall and was taken to an army hospital in Frankfort, Germany. His body was transferred and a service was held in the chapel at 5017 Highland Avenue. His parents are Mr. and Mrs. Theodore J. Grotefeld. He is buried in Clarendon Hills Cemetery in Clarendon Hills, IL
His name is engraved on the plaque at Memorial Park in Downers Grove honoring local servicemen who never returned home from World War II.
