Dr. Gerd Emma-Stina Grenander

1925 - 2020

Grenander, Dr. Gerd Emma-Stina (Hallqvist)
95, passed away peacefully in her home on November 14, 2020 after a decade-long struggle with Alzheimer's disease.
Dr. Grenander was born in Perstorp, Sweden in 1925. She earned her medical degree from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and practiced medicine in her native Sweden for many years until she moved to Providence, RI with her husband, Professor Ulf Grenander, a mathematician at Brown University. Over the next several decades, she raised her family on the East Side of Providence while working as a physician in the Student Health department at Brown University and as a gynecologist at Planned Parenthood. Every summer, she, her husband, and their three children returned to Sweden where she continued her medical practice.
Dr. Grenander, known affectionately as Paj, will be remembered by her family and friends as a strong and spunky woman who was incredibly dedicated to her work, to her children and grandchildren, to her innumerable dogs, and most of all, to her husband. With exuberant energy, she was an active member of the Brown community, and she touched so many lives with her vibrant intellect and witty sense of humor. She welcomed animals of all kinds into her warm home and cherished the close connection with nature that she enjoyed every summer in Västervik, Sweden. When she was not tending to her flowers, playing yet another competitive game of bridge with her friends, or creating a masterpiece in the kitchen, she could be found taking walks on the East Side or crocheting next to her adoring husband. Her ethical and non-materialistic approach to life helped shape the lives of her grandchildren who will carry her values with them forever.
She is predeceased by her loving husband of 69 years, their dog Kettu, and caregiver Antonia Shanley. She is survived by her son Sven and daughter-in-law Nancy, her daughter Angela Grenander and Nooredin Raufi and their four children Alexander, Ariana, Nikolas, and Tatiana, and her daughter Charlotte and son-in-law Jeffrey Guterman and their children Annika and Anders. She also leaves behind her incredible team of caregivers- Joyce Kareemo, Alcinda Miranda, Manuela Suggs, Alexandra Reyes, and Cassie Medeiros. These remarkable women filled her last decade with comfort, joy, and peace.
Services will be private, held in Sweden. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association.