Grace Inez (Hempel) Kindvall was born June 9, 1936, to Roy and Inez Hempel. Grace grew up in Minneapolis and graduated from South High School in 1954. Her high school friend, Pat Oredson, introduced Grace to the love of her life, Oscar “Jim” Kindvall. They were united in marriage on August 20, 1954. They had three children, Ed, Cindy, and Ken.
Grace worked for Medtronic for 25 years soldering circuit boards for pacemakers and working on artificial heart valves. After retiring from Medtronic, Jim and Grace moved up to Big Sandy Lake where they enjoyed lake life, boating, fishing and snowmobiling. Grace needed an outlet for her cooking energy, so she went back to work as a cook at Covenant Pines Bible Camp for several years and became “Grandma Grace” to all the campers. A decade later, Jim and Grace moved to Baxter and joined Park United Methodist Church where they met their “breakfast friends”, going every Sunday after church.
Above all, Grace enjoyed spending time with family and friends. Grace always welcomed you with a warm hug and fed you well. You always left with goodies, such as cookies and banana bread in case you didn’t get enough while visiting. In 2022, she moved back to Blaine to be near family.
Grace passed away on December 3 at White Pines Memory Care in Blaine, Minnesota. Grace is survived by her children Ed (Lori) Kindvall, Cindy (John) Bagley and Ken (Michelle) Kindvall, her grandchildren Mathew, Joseph, Eric, Ryan, Ryan Haywood, Amanda (Nathan) Pham, Andrew and Lauren, and several great grandchildren. Grace is preceded in death by her loving husband Jim of 62 years, her parents Roy and Inez, and her sister Lois.
A visitation will be held on December 17, 2025, from 10:30 am to 11:30 am at Gearhart Funeral Home, located at 11275 Foley Blvd NW, Coon Rapids, MN. The funeral service will follow at the same venue at 11:30 am.
