Dean Allen Grimsrud

neighboring town of Hillhead. He was baptized and confirmed at Trondland Lutheran Church.

He attended grade school in a one-room schoolhouse during which time he passed two grades

in one year. He graduated from Kidder High School in 1948, after pausing his HS education for

two years to help his Dad on the farm. He won several medals as a track athlete and was an

outstanding baseball pitcher, which he continued to play until leaving S.D. in 1957.

He married Vada Cole on Nov. 26, 1948. He worked as a farmhand and a school bus driver until 1952

when he took over his parents’ farm. Dean & Vada’s first home in the town of Kidder consisted of two

rooms with no running water or electricity. To support his ever-growing family of four kids, he milked

cows and raised grain. Crop failures and falling prices forced him to move his family to the Pacific

Northwest where he was employed with Boeing Aircraft in 1957. The family resided in Auburn, WA until

1960, when they moved to Portland, OR, where his parents resided. He worked as a tire retreader for

Butler Tire & Battery, where he became foreman. He was electrocuted in an on-the-job accident which

left him with severe low back pain. His working days culminated as a foreman for Goodyear Tire on the

Alaska pipeline. After retiring he worked from home repairing small engines and doing carpentry.

In 1961 Dean & Vada purchased their first and only home. It was here that they added their last child,

Lisa to the family. Supporting a family of five children had its share of challenges, but his willingness to

work overtime and his sacrificial nature met them head-on.

Dean’s love of baseball was manifested for several years as a coach and umpire for both Kenton Little

League and Concordia College. His respect for his players in turn earned theirs. He never really gave up coaching, but simply coached and did play by play analysis from the sidelines of the living room in his

favorite chair, adopting the Mariners and Trailblazers as his substitute teams. He loved hunting and

fishing and was a gardener extraordinaire. He was most proud of the corn, cucumbers, and tomatoes,

which he readily shared with family, friends, and neighbors. He was an avid reader of Westerns and a

lover of the outdoors. Camping was the highlight of family life. He built his own shop where he spent

the majority of his time constructing and crafting things for others. He was inventive and creative, and

his work is on display in the homes and gardens of those he loved.

Above all else, Dean loved his family. He cherished any event that brought them together. He sacrificed

much of his life helping them. No repair was beyond his skill set and no need beyond his kind-

heartedness. He was a smart yet simple man whose contentment was found in people and nature. He

was an especially grateful person who appreciated the little things. He loved unconditionally and was

quick to forgive. He was an ordinary man who led an extraordinary life of ninety years.

He was preceded in death by his parents, sister JoAnn Inman, granddaughter Tracy Grimsrud, grandson

Dustin Thoune, and daughter-in-law Karen Wollam-Grimsrud.

He is survived by his wife Vada, his children Steven (Lin) Grimsrud, Rebecca Thoune-Grimsrud, Dawn

(Dave) Klinski, Scott Grimsrud, and Lisa (Nowlin) Withers, his brother Gary (Carolyn) Grimsrud, 14

grandchildren, 32 great grandchildren, 1 great great grandchild, and a host of nieces, nephews and

cousins.