Roger Alan Grant

Roger A. Grant, age 91, of Buffalo, died Friday, February 14, 2020 at Lake Ridge Care Center in Buffalo.

Funeral Liturgy will be held at 10:00 a.m. Friday, July 10, 2020, at St. Mary's Cemetery in Minneapolis with Fr. Michael Van Sloun officiating. A Celebration of life will be held at the Wayzata Bar and Grill, "The Muni" from 1-3 p.m. on Friday, July 10. Memorials are preferred to Anna Marie's Alliance in St. Cloud.

Roger Alan Grant was born February 16, 1928 in Fairmont to Norman and Ethel (Weigand) Grant. He grew up in Fairmont and graduated from Fairmont High School. Roger continued his education by earning a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. He served his county in Italy during WWII in the US Army. Roger was united in marriage to Carolyn Rudolph in Fairmont; they were blessed with 62 years together and two children. Roger worked in sales at Massey Ferguson for many years. He enjoyed being in the outdoors, hunting and fishing. In his later years, he made an impact by charming his wonderful caregivers at Lake Ridge Care Center.

Roger is survived by his son, Gary (Barb Vizenor) of Clearwater; daughter, Liz Leeds of Vail, CO; three grandchildren, Broby Leeds, Gabriela Leeds, and Rebecca Grant; great granddaughter Aspyn Ludenia; sister, Judy Stang of Madison, WI. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife; granddaughter, Jessica Ludenia; and brother, David Grant.

The urn bearers will be Gabriela Leeds and Becca Grant. Arrangements are entrusted with Dingmann Funeral Care Burial & Cremation Services of Maple Lake.

STORY OF MY DAD - BY LIZ

On February 14, 2020 at 6:23 AM Roger Alan Grant left the building. His friends and family will tell you he’s in a better place. The rest will say he did it on purpose to avoid having to make a decision in the pending presidential election or suffer through another Twins baseball season.

As his only daughter, Liz Leeds from Vail, Colorado, my brother and I sat down to write a serious obituary, when it hit us that he was rarely serious about anything. He was known for his sarcasm, telling tasteless jokes, strong cultural opinions and every day humor so why should his obit be any different in describing who this man was?

My only brother, Gary Grant, from Clearwater, Minnesota will tell you that everyone my father came in contact with loved him which I must agree with. While stubborn as heck on most days, he had a kind and generous heart to all that encountered him.

He would never go to movies unless it was a Clint Eastwood movie – that he would watch and memorize the lines. His wife of 63 years, Carolyn Cora Rudolph Grant, passed away in January of 2018. In describing his marriage to my mother, one of his favorite Clint quotes was “They say all marriages are made in heaven, but so are thunder and lightning.” Gary and I concur on that one!

Dad was born in Fairmont, Minnesota to Norman and Ethel Grant on February 16, 1928. He attended the University of Minnesota and entered the army during this time serving during World War II in Italy. He came back and settled into a career with Massey Ferguson as a salesman. He was a quintessential traveling salesman and left that legacy for my brother and I to follow in his tracks. Great sales people we are! During the years living in several states and towns, we spent summers at lake cabins where dad loved to fish and we all loved the lake life. He and his father hunted every fall for pheasants and ducks. I fondly remember my grandmother wrestling to clean those nasty little buggers for Sunday dinner. I argued with my dad one day about using a gun and having a gun around the house and he proudly said (another Clint favorite) “I have a very strict gun control policy: if there's a gun around, I want to be in control of it.”

My father never missed a game I was a cheerleader at, an event my brother had, or a guy’s night out snowmobiling in Detroit Lakes, MN. I was so proud of him when I was a senior in high school to see his photo on the front page of the newspaper. Not for a recognition of something great but for going through the ice into open water on Lake Detroit with a big ole cigar hanging out of his mouth. I still never hear the end of that story from my high school friends. Yes, he was a legend!

Dad was a great grandfather to our children. He spent fun times in Minnesota with his two granddaughters, Rebecca and Jessica Grant, great granddaughter Aspyn, and was instrumental in raising them. As well, he would come out to Vail where he supported my children, Broby and Gabriela, in anything I asked of him even sitting at the bottom of the half pipe ski event watching my son perform crazy tricks at ski events. While all the other parents and grandparents had the latest ski wear on, Dad had his camo hunting jacket and hat on.

Dad loved his brother David Grant from Kansas City who happened to pass away just one day before dad left our earth. We think he finally let go knowing his brother was up in heaven and needed a buddy to play cards and have a beer with. He liked to tease his only sister, Judy Grant Stang, from Madison, Wisconsin. I think he secretly strived to be a better cook than her as she had her masters in home economics. Dad and others did think his baked beans, pot roast, BBQ skills and other things were right out of the Better Crocker cookbook but Aunt Judy actually worked at General Mills (Better Crocker) so not so sure he was right about that. We just couldn’t ask him to eat Mexican food, cheese or lamb as he had enough of ‘that mutton’ in the army!

While Dad was not big on traveling, he coordinated an annual fishing trip to Canada for over 30 years with all of his favorite buddies and family members. He looked so forward to this trip where they all caught plenty of fish, had plenty of beer and played lots of cards. Those who had the pleasure of being on those legendary trips knew that what happened at UCHI stayed at UCHI. Let’s stop at that!

In March of 2015, Dad had a 12 hour back surgery that did not come out so well. He was confined to a wheel chair and we had no choice but to have him live in a nursing home. We tried a few homes but after constant complaints about the food and staff he found a safe haven at the Lakeridge Care Center in Buffalo, MN. He spent the next four years entertaining the nurses with his jokes and misbehaviors. Gary spent timeless hours visiting and bringing him food as Roger continually said, ‘if you want to lose weight or die, live in this place’. With that being said, he will be sadly missed by all.

Dad is preceded in death by his wife, Carolyn Grant, granddaughter Jessica Ludenia, Son-in-Law Gary Leeds; all of whom he cherished.

A Funeral Liturgy will take place at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Minneapolis at 10:00 a.m. Friday, July 10, 2020. Everyone who remembers Roger is asked to celebrate his life at the Wayzata Municipal Liquor bar, affectionately known to Roger and his friends as the “Muni”, 747 Mill St, Wayzata, MN from 3-5 p.m. on July 10 and can tell a story in their own way; telling ‘he wasn’t so bad’ or ‘what a legend’ story of their choosing. Appetizers will be provided.

In lieu of flowers, Roger would hope that you will do an unexpected act of kindness by donating to Anna Marie’s Alliance Women’s Shelter, P.O. Box 367, Saint Cloud, MN 56302.

In closing I talked seriously to dad one day about my career, marriage and guarantees. His final Clint quote was, ‘Liz, if you want a guarantee, buy a toaster!’ We will all desperately miss him and his loving and poignant advice.

To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Roger Alan Grant, please visit our Tree Store.