Photo courtesy of Westgor Funeral Home - Neenah
1945 - 2018 (Age 73)
I'm sorry to learn of Dave's passing in 2018. We both worked in logistics for Kimberly-Clark and our paths crossed many times. Dave was a great guy. My condolences to his family. Jim Fitzgerald Roswell, GA
Jim Fitzgerald
June 04, 2022 | Work
Dave got me into riding a motorcycle again. Something I gave up in my youth. I remember talking to him often in the West Office one parking lot about riding. He help me understand that you could enjoy riding and minimizing the risk of that choice. He was a nice man and shared his knowledge with his co-workers.
Edward Foley
January 01, 2019 | Richland, MI
In loving memory of a wonderful person. We will love you and miss you always. Thought of you folks often as Carol and Bruce have kept us up to date. The very best to you and the kids
Allen & Susan Pachmayer
November 18, 2018 | Vail, CO | Friend
Always remember his great smile,
Motor cycles and skiing with the group from Kerms Superway...
what fun times those were.
So sorry for your loss...
Kathie Gilchrist Hevey
November 13, 2018 | Eau Claire, WI | Coworker
Kathy and family, our prayers and thoughts are with you. Dave will be missed by all of us who had the pleasure of knowing him. I met Dave in 1987 and worked for/with him for the next sixteen years. These years were some of my best years with K-C. Working with Dave was rewarding and fun. Dave and his team always put our customers first and we were most respected above our competitors.
Wil Ayers
November 01, 2018 | Appleton, WI | Coworker
Kathy please accept our condolences. So surprised and shocked to learn of Dave's passing. The good guys just seem to go before their time.
First met Dave in Paris TX where he did a stellar job, thereafter our paths crossed from time to time in K-C. He was always on the ball and well respected for his expertise and his values, especially by those he mentored.
Don Luker
October 31, 2018 | Peoria, AZ | Coworker
Dave set the bar pretty high as a husband, father, grandfather, friend, fellow church member and colleague...a hard act to follow. I had the pleasure of knowing Dave as a fellow Neenonian ,member of 1st Pres and as a K-C colleague. What was most evident was his ability to help people in the heat of the moment find the right decision for the right reasons. He had the ability to find balance and not lose his way or be distracted by personalities or biases. He made a difference in peoples...
Tom Payne
October 31, 2018 | Bangkok | Friend
Three of our many rides..!
Three of our many rides!
Jim Johnson
October 30, 2018 | Eau Claire, WI | Friend
Plants Galore
a loved one
October 30, 2018
On October 23, 2018 the world lost a gentle soul who was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, brother, brother in-law, uncle and friend.David Carl Grinsel was the first baby to be born in Eau Claire County on January 1, 1945. (No gifts were given to his parents because it was a time of war.) Dave was the third son born to Jack and Doris Grinsel.
Dave grew up in Eau Claire attending Boyd Elementary School, Eau Claire Junior High, and his beloved Memorial High School. (Dave felt sorry for anyone who wasn’t an OLD ABE.) After graduating from Memorial, Dave attended UW Eau Claire and graduated in January, 1968 with a degree in Business Administration.
On July 22, 1967, Dave married Kathleen Zukaitis. This year they celebrated 51 years of marriage. Dave entered the Air Force in June of 1968 and was selected to study at Syracuse University to become a Russian linguist. After security school in San Angelo, TX and a few months at Offutt Air Base in Omaha, NE, Dave was sent to Rhein Main Air Base in Germany where he spent the next two years flying in the back of a C130 recording and then translating Russian intercepts.
After four years in the military, Dave took a job with Kimberly Clark in Hendersonville, N. C. Six years later, Dave was transferred to Neenah, WI. From Neenah, he went to Paris, TX and then eventually back to Neenah. Dave loved going to work every day and loved all of the people who he came in contact with.
Dave was the proud father of three wonderful children: Jennifer, Jodi and Mark. He was always an active participant in their lives and the lives of their children.
Besides his family, Dave loved skiing down a mountain, riding his motorcycle all over the country on back roads, and watching the Badgers no matter what the sport! He was also known “to cut a rug” whenever he could.
The past several years Dave has fought an unbeatable fight with a neurological disease, PSP. This disease took a terrible toll on Dave, but he never complained and always tried to keep on living the best that he could. He never lost his smile.
Dave is survived by his wife, Kathy, his children Jennifer (Jeff) Borths, Jodi (Sean) Clifford, and Mark. He is also survived by his five granddaughters, Ellie, Anya and Neve Clifford and Seaenah and River Grinsel. He is further survived by his brothers John (Gi), and Jim (Diane), in-laws Judy and Larry Perkin, Cindy and Kirk Dahl, Michele and Bob McCormick, Teri and Joel Sullivan, and Laurie Zukaitis. Dave has many nieces and nephews whom he loved dearly.
Dave was preceded in death by his parents, Jack Grinsel and Doris Backstrom, his in-laws Frank and Charlene Zukaitis, his brother in-laws Jim and Rick Zukaitis and his daughter in-law Michelle Grinsel.
Visitation will be held Friday, November 2, 2018, from 9:00-11:00 AM with funeral to follow at First Presbyterian Church, 200 Church St, Neenah, with Rev. Paul Huxtable officiating. Military Honors will follow with the Neenah/Menasha Veterans Honor Guard. The family requests that if you wish to honor Dave with a donation, please think about one of the following: Thedacare At Home Hospice , 1818 North Meade St. Appleton, WI 54911, Valley VNA Senior Services, 1535 Lyon Dr. Neenah, WI 54956 Or CURE PSP, 1216 Broadway, New York, NY 10001.
God bless all of the wonderful caregivers that touched Dave’s life.
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