Community advocate Robert Gratz fought for many causes

Community organizer Robert Gratz died peacefully on March 9 at the James J. Peters VA Medical Center, two days after marrying his longtime partner Linda Hays.

Mr. Gratz was born in 1946 in Painesville, Ohio to Irene and Robert Gratz , members of a prominent Democratic family. The young Robert Gratz often accompanied his father to national conventions and campaign rallies, where he developed a love of politics and justice. 

He enlisted in the Marines in 1966 and completed 26 combat operations in Vietnam. It was there where he first encountered Buddhism. He returned home in 1967 with numerous decorations. He attended Kent State and Columbia Universities under the GI Bill and marched with the Vietnam Veterans Against the War. He walked up the Capitol steps behind John Kerry and other veterans to throw all their decorations in a pile to protest a war that should have ended earlier. 

Mr. Gratz became a film editor in 1973, going on to win many awards over the next 25 years. In 1977, he started studying at the Zen Buddhist Temple of Chicago with the late Richard Langlois. In 1980, he received lay ordination from him, receiving the Dharma name Tesshu. 

Later on, Mr. Gratz trained at Zen Mountain Monastery in Mount Tremper, N.Y. and became a member of the Episcopal Church of the Mediator, where he became the director of public affairs in 2006 and a member of the vestry in 2007. He involved himself in community programs such as HIV prevention, domestic abuse, drug and alcohol treatment and immigration reform.

In 2007, Mr. Gratz founded the Bread Program, which provides donated bread and pastries to churches and homeless shelters.

Such undertakings made him a regular in the pages of The Press, where he also made contributions to the op-ed section.

Mr. Gratz demonstrated his great love for all kinds of animals by maintaining two cat colonies, among other efforts. In 2008, he was certified in New York City’s Trap-Neuter-Return Program. People in Riverdale knew that if they had a problem with a lost cat, stray dog or a raccoon that was acting strangely, they could ask Robert for help.