Jacob Chen Grover was born on October 6, 2005 in Hangzhou, China. He was brought to the Hangzhou Children’s Welfare Institute when he was around a year old. He was loved and cared for at the orphanage. In early 2010, the Lord told Jennifer and James that there was a little child that they needed to find and bring to their family. They began their search and when they found Jacob’s photo on an internet adoption site, they knew instantly that he was their son. They immediately began the long process of Jacob’s adoption.
Two days before Jennifer and James were to travel to bring Jacob home, they received a phone call from their adoption agency stating that Jacob had had a seizure and was unconscious. They were not allowed to travel to bring Jacob home. The next day’s phone call revealed that Jacob was awake, but was completely paralyzed on the left side. It was a month before Jennifer and James were allowed to travel to China to bring him home. Although Jacob’s left side remained weak, the paralysis was gone and he had regained the use of it.
On February 28, 2011, Jacob burst through the doors of the Chinese Civil Affairs Building to meet his forever mom and dad. It was complete and instant love for both Jacob and his parents. While in China, Jacob’s parents were allowed to visit the orphanage with Jacob. There, Jennifer and James discovered that Jacob was known as “the more active child” and that he was a celebrity in the orphanage. Although there were over 350 children in the orphanage, all of the orphanage workers knew and loved Jacob. During the visit, the workers went to great lengths to show their love and good wishes for Jacob in his new life.
Jacob joined his family in Lehi, Utah on March 17, 2011, St. Patrick’s Day. He loved his new siblings and they completely adored him. The Grover family was sealed in the Draper Temple on April 23, 2011. It was a glorious day, filled with the promise of eternal family and therefore eternal happiness.
In May, Jacob was diagnosed with Moyamoya disease, a disease that greatly restricts the arteries in the brain. It was discovered that the episode that had paralyzed Jacob a few months back, had actually been a stroke. Jacob immediately underwent brain revascularization surgery.
Jacob attended kindergarten at Snow Springs Elementary with Mrs. McPherson. He loved his teachers and riding the bus. Jacob attended first and second grade at Fox Hollow Elementary with Mrs. Kennelly. He had a very special bond with her. Among many other things, Jacob learned to identify all of his capital letters and most of his lower case letters. He knew his colors and numbers and he had mastered several sight words.
They say that the more nicknames that a child has, the more loved they are. It should surprise no one that Jacob had countless love names. Most of them very silly. However, the name that Jacob went by most often was “Cubby”.
Cubby had a love for Thomas the Train, Superheroes (especially the Hulk), and Phineas and Ferb. His favorite activity was to play on his iPad where he had mastered Minecraft and Litebike2. He loved to ride his tricycle in the backyard and jump on the trampoline with his siblings. His brothers and sisters are his best friends and he loved to play simple games, like pillow fights and duck duck goose, for hours with them.
On December 12, 2013 Jacob suffered a massive stroke. Despite surgical and other medical treatment, Jacob Grover was held by his parents as he returned to his Heavenly Father on December 15th. His passing has left a hole in his family’s heart that will never be filled.
Jacob’s mission in life was to share the love of Christ and happiness with everyone around him. With his exuberance for life, he captured the hearts of all who knew him. He taught by example how to love completely, instantly forgive, and love every moment of this glorious life.
Jacob is survived by his adoring parents, Jennifer and James; his brothers and sisters, Emily, Brianna, Joshua, Lauren, Jeffrey and Michael; grandparents, Marsha and Richard Murrow; grandmother, Lorraine Hart, and many aunts, uncles and cousins.
