What a story, Trek. My family is so boring. All grandparents born in the US, all 4 families arriving sometime in the decades after the Civil War. Yea, they think they came over on the Mayflower.
My dad's dad was born in the US, but his mom hated it here. They went back to Germany for a few years when he was 2 (born in 1895), but I guess she finally saw the writing on the wall and returned to Connecticut. The great grandfather I knew, rubbed soap in his eyes to escape serving in the Czar's army. He gave himself cataracts, but managed to get to Worcester, MA, where my mom's mom was born. He was an austere, tall guy, who was very formal. He lived until I was 12, so we used to see him frequently. Typical stoic Russian in my eyes.
Seriously, both sides of my family worked really hard at turning themselves into "Yankees," and until my cousin became Orthodox, I was the most religious person in my family. When my kids were little, I decided that since I was sending them to a JCC preschool, I wouldn't be a hypocrite and so I learned, along with them.