01/29/2024
KATHLEEN JOYCE (HERBISON) GRIGNON
Kathleen Joyce (Herbison) Grignon died peacefully on 12/17/23 at the age of 93 in her cabin on Round Lake. She had been in the care of her loving family for 18 months with the support of Hospice of the Red River Valley.
Kay was born 2/19/29 in Grafton, ND to Herbert Wright and Pearl Marie (Brayton) Herbison. She was the second of 4 girls, raised in Minnewauken and later Fargo,ND. She graduated from Fargo High School in 1947 and earned a degree in Home Economics in 1951 from North Dakota State University.
She met her future husband Romeo (Ro) Duane Grignon in 6th grade, married him on December 26th, 1950 in a candlelight service surrounded by roses and pine. Thereafter, they were known as “Ro and Kay”. They were married for 72 years.
Following college graduation, Kay took a job in Wisconsin teaching school in order to help pay for Ro’s college. After he completed his graduate study they moved to Rolla, ND where they taught school prior to Ro starting his television career. Kay fondly recalled how her students came and cared for her following the birth of her son Peter.
Kay and Ro raised 5 children and moved 9 times for Ro’s work. They lived in North Dakota, Wisconsin, Kansas, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Minnesota but they returned every summer to Kays favorite place in the world…Round Lake. They finally moved to the lake full time in 1983 following Ro’s short lived retirement. They spent a few years in Fargo at Touchmark but Kay returned to the lake following Ro’s death in 2022.
Kay loved nature and the outdoors even as a young girl. She came to Round Lake in 1939 at age 10 and reveled in a woodland home that had an outdoor biffy, no electricity, a woodburning stove, an icehouse and all the freedom she could dream of to explore this wild place.
Kay loved to swim, kayak and cross-country ski with her dear friend Ruth Bergquist. She could be found playing in the water with her great grandchildren into her 90’s. She was active in the lake community serving in the lakes association and the North Country Trail development. She was a strong supporter of the Tamarac Wildlife Refuge.
Kay is survived by her son David Lund Grignon of South Lake Tahoe, CA, daughter Judith Kathleen Grignon-Hoiriis, of Minnetonka, MN, daughters-in-law Mary Kim Grignon of Overland Park, KS and Evelyn Grignon of Hopkins, MN, as well as 10 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her her parents and her three sisters Mary Wenger, Nancy Thorndal and Phyllis Erickson, her husband, Ro and sons Peter, Alan and John.
The family plans a shared celebration of life for Kay and Ro on Saturday, June 29th, 2024 at 11:00 at the Hanson-Runsvold Funeral Home 215 7th St. S, Fargo, ND 58103. If so inclined, the family suggests memorials to Round and Ice Cracking Lakes Association Environmental Fund or the Salvation Army in Fargo. Please feel free to share memories or condolences at
www.hansonrunsvold.com.
The family gives special thanks to the caregivers at Hospice of the Red River Valley whose loving care and attention always brightened our days! . . . . . . . .
ROMEO (RO) DUANE GRIGNON
Ro was born on 1/30/29 to Angus and Freda Lund (later Ramsland) and had a younger half-sister LaDonna Ramsland. He died of Covid on 2/5/22 at the age of 93 at St Lukes Hospital in Fargo, ND. Ro was raised in Fargo, graduated from Fargo High School in 1947 and attended North Dakota State University. Ro later transferred to the University of Wisconsin, Madison graduating with degrees in Speech, English and Political Science in 1953. In addition, he completed graduate work at both the University of Wisconsin, Madison and NYU.
Ro met his future wife Kathleen “Kay” Herbison in 6th grade, married her in a Christmas evening ceremony on Dec 26th 1950 and spent over 72 years together. They raised five children as they moved 9 times for his work, living in ND, WI, KS, PA, OH and MN.
As college students, he and Kay saw their first TV broadcast at a friend’s house where they watched a fuzzy, static screen that was supposed to be a football game. He was hooked. His first job was to help put KXJB TV on the air in Fargo and Valley City. He fondly recalled building the set for the very first news broadcast. In 1958, Ro moved to Kansas City to work for WDAF-TV, progressing from sales to general manager.
Eventually, Taft Broadcasting purchased WDAF-TV and his career began.
Over the years, he was the General Manager of 5 major market TV stations eventually becoming the President of the 12 TV stations in the group. He was one of the producers of the longtime, nationally syndicated TV show “Entertainment Tonight”, he collaborated with Disney on its “Charlottes Web” production and worked closely with his friends Bill Hanna and Joe Barbara. Ro joined Red River Broadcasting in 1989 and was president of the television and radio group until his retirement in December of 2013 at the age of 84. His final years were spent in Fargo.
Ro’s wife Kay passed away in December of 2023. He is survived by his son David, daughter Judith Grignon-Hoiriis, daughter’s-in-law Mary Kim, and Evelyn. He leaves behind 10 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by sons Peter and John, his parents and sister; his son Alan died in 2023.
The family plans a shared celebration of life for Ro and Kay on Saturday June 29th, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. at Hanson-Runsvold Funeral Home in Fargo. If so inclined, the family suggests memorials to Round/Ice Cracking Lakes Association Environmental Fund or the Salvation Army of Fargo.
