PATRICIA GRAPENTINE

PATRICIA (PAT) JEAN GRAPENTINE  Patricia (Pat) Jean Grapentine of Henderson died at age 72 on September 13, 2024. A visitation will be held on Saturday, October 5, 2024, from 2 to 5 p.m. at Kolden Funeral Home, 529 Turril St., Le Sueur, MN 56058. The visitation will conclude with a prayer service at 5 p.m.  Pat was the daughter of Edward Kinney and Angela (Serbus) Kinney. She was born on October 4, 1951, in Redwood Falls. She grew up on their family farm near Morton. She graduated as valedictorian from Morton High School in 1969.  Pat attended University of Minnesota Morris, where she met and married Jerry Grapentine. They had many adventures together; Pat would say that Jerry gave her the gift of laughter.  Pat and Jerry were married for over 53 wonderful years. During that time, they had four children, worked on various home improvement projects, ran their small farm, and took turns finishing college.  While raising four kids, Pat went back to college and graduated from Mankato State University with a degree in accounting and became a certified public accountant.  Pat loved her family and was the happiest when surrounded by all of them. She always said they were a loud group and it was lucky they lived out in the country at the end of a half mile driveway with no neighbors to disturb with their gatherings.  Pat was an avid reader, enjoyed tending her flower gardens, playing cards with friends, sewing, baking, mowing the lawn, and keeping a tidy house. She was also known as the "ice-cream grandma" by the grandkids as she always kept their individual favorite treats on hand.  But above all else, her most favorite pastime was walking with Jerry on the wooded trails around their farm enjoying nature and watching the seasons change. They had strategic benches placed along their scenic route and would often sit for long periods together watching the squirrels, the leaves rustle and checking on the ferns and flowers Jerry had planted near each bench.  Pat is survived by her husband, Jerry, children James (Tina) of Le Sueur, Elizabeth (Paul) Geer of Le Sueur, Matthew (Laura) of St. Louis Park, and Steve (Annie) of Berkeley, Calif.  She has nine grandchildren: Jessica, Luke, Ashley, Miranda, Samuel, Daphne, Henry, Fikru, and Hez. She is also survived by two sisters: Dianne (Terry) Baker and Joyce Merillat.  Pat was preceded in death by her parents, Ed and Angie Kinney, brother Richard Kinney and brother-in-law Dean Merillat.