Inventor/entrepreneur/environmentalist/surfer/sailor Seaton Gras is the great-great-grandson of John Culbert and Mary Ward. He was born 31 August 1955 in Weston, Massachusetts to Ranulf Worcester "Ranny" Gras and Annette Elizabeth Peters.
At an early age, Seaton sold snacks and pencils to his classmates. This was a sign of an entrepreneurial bent that would flourish later. But first, a six-year adventure was about to begin.
Seaton Gras circumnavigates the globe, age 13. |
The Gras family in 1975 after returning home from a trip around the world. Left to right: Ranny, Seaton, Ann, and Adrian. |
Seaton's second round-the-world adventure, age 19 aboard the Merry Maiden in 1976. |
He created a cruising adventure business as Captain from Salem, Massachusetts to Brisbane, Australia to Seattle, Washington.
He started a mobile repair business.
He sold alternative energy heat pumps.
He started a manufacturing facility for solar energy heat pumps.
He created the world's first refrigerant recovery machine.
He received considerable press coverage in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Entrepreneur Magazine.
Governor Bill Clinton visited him during his first primary campaign for President of the United States.
He created a refrigerant reclamation company, Global Ozone Solutions, Inc.
He was elected to Who's Who in Business in 1991.
He was a consultant for the United Nations Environmental Protection where he created two country programs.
He built a search engine for kids.
He issued two patents for an innovative system for data access.
He was a Web consultant for startups.
He started SURF Incubator in March, 2009. SURF provides office space, resources and support for tech-oriented startups. SURF occupies 22,000 square feet (the entire 7th floor) of the Wells Fargo Center in downtown Seattle.
Seaton on board the Merry Maiden in 2019. |
Somehow, during this flurry of creativity, Seaton found time to begin the 20-year restoration of the 1946 wooden ketch, Merry Maiden.
Seaton restoring the Merry Maiden |
Seaton restoring the Merry Maiden. |
Seaton on board the Merry Maiden in 2019. |
I hope that some day, Seaton will elaborate on this biographical sketch for us, and that he'll also write about his equally fascinating parents, Ranny and Ann Gras who in 1953, designed and built Brown's Wood in Lincoln, Massachusetts; a utopian community inspired by B.F. Skinner's book Walden Two.
FAMILY TREE OF SEATON ANDREW RANULF GRAS:
Ancestors:
John Culbert & Mary Ward (great-great-grandparents)
Richard Culbert & Jane Eleanor Fairhall (great-grandparents)
Ethel Gertrude Culbert & Norman Scott Brien Gras (grandparents)
Ranulf Worcester Gras & Annette Elizabeth Peters (parents)
Descendants (Children):
Tiare Elizabeth Gras
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