When found out that a beautiful soul, my ex-wife Jenny Grondahl, and more importantly my continued friend these past 25 years, had passed away I was devastated. I had deluded myself that a miracle would happen.

Jenny made my life and 1,000s of people's lives better and fuller through her union work. Jenny was the kind of person who when she loved you and believed in you, championed you.  

Over the last few years, our relationship was mostly via email as she was living in San Diego, Arizona and finally, Kansas again.  One of us would see an article about something we thought the other would be interested in and send it to each other.  

In 2018, I told her about a Monkees reunion concert in downtown LA.  Though Jenny was too young to know the Monkees from their TV show, it was the first concert she saw when she was 14 and she was big fan, so we met for dinner and went to the show.

If her life had taken a different path, she told me she wanted to be a costume designer, and her homes always had an excellent aesthetic.  Like her father Orv and brother Brian, she was very artistic and was constantly drawing.  I treasure the drawing books she gave me.

She had a profound love for the artist Caravaggio.  I had always been more of a post-1860 kind of guy in my artistic taste, but her passion made me appreciate the Renaissance and Baroque. So much so, that I ended integrating Caravaggio paintings into one of the screenplays I wrote.

Later, she attended my Zoom readings that I did  during the Pandemic. I treasure that I have a recording of her voice after one play ended where you can clearly hear saying how much she loved it.

And though we weren’t meant to be romantic partners, I will always love her, and the world is so so much emptier without her.

I send my condolences to Jennifer's Family.  She was such a fun person, she kept the meetings lively at Local 777 LIUNA . When she would come to Indio and meet, or whether it was in Vegas, or Riverside. 
She was always keeping me laughing with her humor.  I am saddened by this news.
She will be missed dearly.

We live in Litchfield Park & just heard of Jenny’s passing you have our deepest condolences🩷🙏🙏🙏

Holly and I send our love and prayers for peace to the Grondahl family. We will will always have Jenny in our hearts.

Her smile was contagious.  Many great memories of slumber parties during kindergarten and 1st Grade while attending Crestview Elementary.

Aimee Adamson

In 1989, while doing an exchange year at Topeka West High, I was fortunate to have made a dear friend in Jenny.  My first memories was that fabulous hair, that didn’t need a smelly perm, her ridiculously good metabolism and her incredible smile and most importantly, her sincerity and kindness.  My early memories were driving around in her “love bug”, which she did get me to drive once…not an easy feat.  I remember her incredible artistic talent but most of all her loyalty.  This last trait allowed us to have a friendship that lasted until her passing on Easter Sunday.  Over the last 35 years, she has been a bestie, a great mate to my husband Nick and Holly’s American Aunty (although people always thought she was Holly’s mum).  She was an incredible daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece and her most favourite role of all, Aunty to the boys.  Her relationship with her brother is similar to the one I share with my sister.  Her love for him and his family was evident right to the end.  Sadly, living in another continent, I won’t be able to be there to celebrate her life and I don’t know if I am even ready to face doing that…but the one thing Jenny taught me was positivity and her loss has told me to embrace as many moments as possible.  When I come back to the US, I am not sure it will ever feel quite the same, knowing it isn’t filled with a catch up with Jenny.  I am sure many of you are feeling “gut punched” by this incredibly tragic news. To honour my friend, our beloved Jenny Jo, I will remind myself every day about how precious our time was and to live my life in a way that honours her.  My beautiful friend, we will do all those things we talked about when we meet again.  Know that we love you and miss you beyond words.  I am glad you are no longer in pain and are now with your parents and grandparents in the sky.  There will forever be a whole in my heart but I am okay, if that piece is up there with you.  Until we meet again.

Devastated beyond words for losing Jenny so young. Such a positive influence on our family despite the vast distance apart.   Jenny was always a part of every visit to the US , greeting us with her  ever present  smile. Gone but never forgotten.

OBITUARY

Jennifer Jo Grondahl

September 20, 1971 – April 20, 2025

Mount Moriah, Newcomer & Freeman Funeral Home & Mount Moriah Cemetery South

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