The St. Louis electrical industry is mourning the loss of Donald J. Gralike, a former Missouri senator and representative and president of the IBEW Local 1. Mr. Gralike passed away on Sunday, Dec. 6, 2015.

Donald J. Gralike was so passionate about laborers' rights he quoted Hubert Humphrey to his four sons as they sat at the dinner table in Mehlville. “The history of the labor movement should be taught in every school across this country...” Dennis Gralike, of Affton, recalled his father saying. “Do you want me to continue? I've quoted it myself.”

Donald Gralike, a former Missouri representative and senator and former president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1, died Sunday (Dec. 6, 2015) at a hospital after a brief illness. He was 86.

Mr. Gralike was a lifelong member of the Democratic Party and served in the state legislature from 1962 to 1978, defending workers' rights to organize. He served as a four-time delegate to the Democratic National Convention and was defeated by Dick Gephardt in the Democrat primary in 1976 in a bid for Congress. He challenged a state constitutional amendment that compelled candidates to declare unconditional support for term limits. The landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision Cook v Gralike was decided in his favor.

Mr. Gralike was a third-generation electrical worker, and his grandfather was the international president of the electrical union from 1919 to 1929. The local union was the first in the country. Mr. Gralike served as its president from 1972 to 1995. He modernized the union’s membership benefits structure to include a variety of financial planning initiatives and services. In 1978, he was appointed to the U.S. Labor Relations Task Force by President Jimmy Carter.

“He really believed in the middle class and trying to promote equity in justice and economics, to advance mankind,” said son Daniel Gralike of Mehlville. “That's how I always saw him. He was a leader, a beautiful father, and just instilled confidence in everybody he met.”

Three out of the four sons went on to become electrical workers. Dennis Gralike is now the head of an apprenticeship program for electrical workers. Daniel Gralike became an attorney. His father always supported him, he said. “He once told me, 'don't think about what you want to do. Think about what makes you happy.' So that's what I did. He did, too.”

Mr. Gralike was a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War and served as a vice chairman of the Missouri Veterans Commission, and retired from that job in 2003.

Survivors also include his wife of 61 years, Rita, sons Donald Gralike of Highland and David Gralike of Oakville; sister Kay Tominia of Fenton, and 10 grandchildren.

A celebration of Mr. Gralike’s life will be held at 2 p.m. Jan. 16 at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers headquarters, 5850 Elizabeth Avenue in St. Louis.

See the St. Louis Post-Dispatch story on Mr. Gralike.