Roman Stanley Gribbs (December 29, 1925 – April 5, 2016) was an American attorney and politician who served as the mayor of Detroit from 1970 to 1974. Later, Gribbs served as a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals. Gribbs was the last white mayor of the city, which was in the midst of becoming a majority-black city, until the election of Mike Duggan in 2013.
Life and career
Gribbs was born in Detroit on December 29, 1925. He was raised on a farm near Capac, Michigan. His parents were Polish immigrants who were basically farmers, though his father also worked on the Ford assembly line. After graduating from high school in 1944, Gribbs ran for a seat as a Recorder's Court judge in 1966, but lost.
Gribbs declined to seek re-election in 1973 and was succeeded by Coleman Young who was elected Detroit's first African-American mayor in November of that year.
On July 21, 1973, Mayor Gribbs proclaimed “Mary Wilson (of The Supremes) Day” in Detroit, and presented Wilson with a plaque to commemorate the event.
Subsequent career
After leaving the mayor's office, Gribbs returned to private practice.
Personal life
Gribbs was married to Katherine Stratis (1932–2011) from 1954 to 1982, and together they had four daughters (Paula, Carla, Rebecca, Elizabeth) and one son (Christopher). In 1990, he married Leola Young Barr. Gribbs died on April 5, 2016, at his home in Northville, Michigan from cancer, aged 90.