Ronald L. Grunden

December 11, 1946 - January 24, 2020
Ron Grunden died in Burbank, CA, on January 24, 2020, at age 73. He was born in Glendale, CA, and lived in Burbank his entire life.
He was predeceased by parents, Loyal and Grace Grunden. Ron is survived by daughter, Jessica Grunden, and son, Thomas Grunden; brothers, Lawrence and Daniel Grunden, sister Lela Grunden Holper (Dave); nieces and nephews, Nancy, Craig, Abbey, Sarah, Carla, Michael and Kevin.
Ron had a rewarding career coaching high school and Pop Warner football. He seemed to have a nickname for every player and they loved it. Later, challenging work in special effects at the Studios brought him great joys. The varied work in scenes requiring explosives was straight up his alley and to say he loved it, is an understatement. Ron loved sports and competition. Fishing, golf and softball were favorites. As a young man, he played softball at its highest levels and catcher was a favorite position. He had a strong arm and a firm grip of the game, but his power at the plate bordered on scary. His line drive home runs off of flame throwing pitchers' fastballs were first met with audible gasps, then a brief silence and finally, the roar of the crowd. At his next at bat, if the third baseman played back too far, he would occasionally bunt for an easy single and one could hear quiet giggles in the crowd. Fishing was a passion and he could talk about it for hours and he did. Trips to Baja California and albacore fishing out of San Diego, topped his list. He caught everything from blue gill minnows to marlins. From a young age to the last months of his life, Ron enjoyed golf with many friends. He played with gusto and rarely played it safe. His weekly Friday morning breakfasts with friends at the Coral Cafe were enjoyed and memorable. Poker games at the Binda's go back about six decades and words cannot describe Ron's good times there, but laughter would certainly be one, and Ron had a high straight flush laugh. Ron's memory was elephant like. He seemed to remember everything. Be it family, friends, sports trivia or whatever, he often could recall it in amazing detail. But most of all, Ron loved his family and friends.
A Celebration of Life will be held Sunday, March 22, 2020 from 2-5 pm at Burbank Elks Lodge, 2232 N. Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA. An RSVP would be helpful by Saturday, March 14 to larrygrunden@gmail.com.