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Pat Grant Obituary – 3/4/09


Pat Grant, age 81, wife of legendary Minnesota Vikings coach Bud Grant and mother of Eden Prairie High School football coach and athletic director Mike Grant, died Wednesday, March 4, 2009, at Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina of complications from Parkinson’s disease.

She graduated from St. Paul Murray High School and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota, where she majored in home economics and minored in journalism.

At home, she raised four boys and two girls, and was a “consummate homemaker,” said her husband of 59 years.

Pat volunteered for 30 years at Fairview Southdale Hospital, where she ran errands and delivered supplies. She spent most of her time in the family lounge, where she comforted families with loved ones in the intensive care unit. She logged more than 6,000 hours of volunteer service from October 1973 to May 2003, said Pamela Mills, manager of Volunteer Services.

“She was a gem,” Mills said. “She was a sweet, humble volunteer who did whatever was needed. Everybody loved her.”

In addition to her husband, Bud, and son, Mike, Pat is survived by sons Peter of Delano, Bruce of Victoria, and Dan of Eden Prairie; daughters Laurie Tangert of Minnetonka, and Kathy Fritz of Waconia; brothers Bob Nelson, Phil Nelson, and Chuck Nelson; 19 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

The funeral service took place Sunday, March 8 at 2 p.m. at St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Eden Prairie, preceded by visitation at the church.

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