Carl ‘Skip’ Grinhaug, 85

Sept. 22, 1937 —

May 16, 2023

 

CRESCO - Carl William “Skip” Grinhaug, age 85, of Cresco, Iowa, passed away at the Gundersen Lutheran Hospital in LaCrosse, Wis. on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. 

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, May 24, 2023 at 11 a.m. at First Congregational Church of Cresco. Friends may call at Lindstrom Funeral Home in Cresco from 4-7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, as well as one hour prior to services at the church. Burial with military honors will be at the Kendallville-Eddy Cemetery near Kendallville, Iowa.

Carl William “Skip” Grinhaug was born on a farm south of Cresco on Sept. 22, 1937. After graduating from  Cresco High School in 1955, he worked for the Milwaukee Railroad, then moved to the Chicago area and worked at a box factory. He later took a job at an appliance store, which was the beginning of a career in appliance repair.

Skip was drafted into the U.S. Army on Jan. 17, 1961 and served until honorably discharged on Jan. 16, 1963. He spent all of his service in the United States, most of it at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, until his discharge. 

On Aug. 3, 1963, he married Rochelle Blucher. The couple had two children Bob (Robert) and Renee, but they later divorced.

During this time, Skip and a friend, Don “Dino” Massimo, formed a partnership and had their own business, D&S Appliance. After several years, the partnership dissolved, and he worked at an electrical factory for a short time. 

During this time, he met Bonnie Brown, and the two were married in 1970. They also had two children, Shannon and David, and the couple later divorced.

Skip started working at Abbott Laboratories in 1976 and retired there as a maintenance supervisor in 2000. He had perfect attendance for the last 23 years of his duties at Abbott, and was very proud of that. 

After retirement, he sold his house in Zion, Ill., and bought a new Ford F-350 diesel and a new fifth wheel RV and spent the next 13 years on the road. He lived in 49 states during that time, spending most of the winters in Texas. When asked why he only lived in 49 states, his reply was “the RV didn’t float.”

In 2012, his son, Bob signed him up for membership in American Legion Post 135, after his move back to Cresco. Skip helped with numerous post functions, including Honor Guards at veteran’s funerals. For the last couple of years, he could be seen wearing his small black trademark hat, a “Stingy Brimmed Fedora,” (specifically identified by Dr. Paul Jensen) that the ladies were so fond of.

Skip is survived by his children, Robert (Kim) Grinhaug of Rochester, Minn., Renee (Rex) Perkins of Burlington, Colo., Shannon (Chris) Hedrick of Zion and David (Erin) Grinhaug of Union Grove, Wis.; 13 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; siblings, Marie (Lavern) Hruska of  Waterloo, Iowa, Susan Ramanauskas of Cresco and Mark (Kathy) Grinhaug of Cresco; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Carl and Alvina (Pittelko) Grinhaug; maternal and paternal grandparents; brothers-in-law, Jim Scanlon and Lee Ramanauskas; a niece, Monica Toddie; a grandson, Gage Hedrick; a brother Ben Grinhaug; and sister, Inger Scanlon.