Dr. Lawrence Grant, 70, died on Thursday, October 29, 2009 at his home in Thief River Falls, MN under the care of hospice after a courageous battle with cancer.

Funeral services will be held 11:00 AM, Friday, November 6, 2009 at Zion Lutheran Church in Thief River Falls, MN with Rev. Ale Tulu officiating. Burial will follow in Greenwood Cemetery, Thief River Falls, MN.

Visitation will be held from 5-8, Thursday, November 5, 2009 at Johnson Funeral Service in Thief River Falls, MN with a Prayer Service at 7:00 PM. Visitation will also be held for one hour prior to the funeral service at the church on Friday.

Lawrence Edward Grant was born on October 3, 1939 to Lars Johann and Phyllis Esther (Pierce) Grant in St. Lukes Hospital in Fargo, ND. He was baptized in Walcott, ND where his family lived for the first 10 months of his life. His family then moved to Felton, MN where his dad served as superintendent of schools for 3 years. Lawrence and his family then moved to Borup, MN for 3 more years. In 1946, his family settled in Hillsboro, ND and that is what Lawrence always considered his childhood home. He attended school in Hillsboro and graduated from High School in 1957. Lawrence went on for secondary education and received a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Mathematics from the University of North Dakota in 1961. Promptly after attending UND, Lawrence served his country in the US Army for two years. He was stationed in El Paso, TX, Pittsburg, PA, and Hartford, CT on missile sites. While Lawrence was in the Army, he also took night classes and started working on his Masters degree in math education, attaining that degree in 1965. In June of 1965, he applied for Doctorate school and was accepted at University of Illinois. During his time at Illinois, he worked as an assistant principal in Kenosha, WI at Temper High School. Lawrence attained his Doctorate of School Administration.

For 21 years, Lawrence was principal of the White Fish Bay High School in the Milwaukee area. He always felt fortunate to receive this job and couldnt have asked for anything more. He had tremendous pride in the quality of students that he and his staff had the pleasure of educating. For six years, Lawrence served on the National Corporate Board for the A.C.T. Test that oversaw students applying for college. During this time he also chaired teams that evaluated the Department of Defense Schools in Europe. He served on the board of regents of Columbia Nursing College. He was also the President of the State Internal Board that evaluated public schools. For 10 years, Lawrence taught School Administration classes for the University of Wisconsin to graduate students.

Lawrence longed for the Red River Valley and wanted to move closer to his childhood home, so in 1992 he moved to Fertile, MN and worked as their Superintendent of Schools until 1995. He was united in marriage to the love of his life Linda Robson. They made their home in Thief River Falls and have lived there since. After retiring from education, Lawrence worked in a recovery center at a Glenmore Group Home in Thief River Falls for 10 years. He had two passions during his retirement. One was Zion Lutheran Church where he served as the church president for 6 years. His other passion was reading and that lead to extensive work on the library board in Thief River Falls. He also enjoyed traveling and visiting with family and friends. He was an animal lover and enjoyed watching sports. He enjoyed his many morning conversations with his father and mother in-law over coffee. Lawrence was a well educated and articulate man. He was passionate about his ideas and could express them like no other. He had a fondness of history and religion. He also had an innate gift of remembering people and always expressed interest other peoples lives.

Lawrence is survived by his wife Linda, Thief River Falls, sister Peggy, Abiquiu, NM, brother David, Geelong, Victoria, Australia, and all of Lindas family which includes: father in law, William Robson, sisters in law, Diane (Ron) Robson, Kami (John) St. Marie, brothers in law: Bill (Danica) Robson, Robert (Kristi) Robson, Darin (Lisa) Robson, nieces Wendy (Mark) Daniels, Emily and Anna Robson, nephews, Nick Stokke, Zach and Griffin St. Marie, J.D. Robson, Aaron Robson, Ben Robson, great nephews Philip and Tate Daniels, Walker Stokke, and his companions Frances, Mia and Misty.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his mother in law Joan Robson.

ORGANIST: Phyllis Dalager
SOLOIST: Diane Johnson
SELECTIONS: Battle Hymn of the Republic, Amazing Grace
SPECIAL MUSIC: Mike Sorteberg, Rick Erickson and Rick Kitley
SELECTIONS: Peace in the Valley & The Old Rugged Cross
CONGREGATIONAL HYMNS: Beautiful Savior
PRAYER SERVICE ORGANIST: Ida Nordvall
EULOGISTS: David Grant & Lawrence Hanson
PALLBEARERS: Jim Hausmann, Mike Thompson, Winton Forsberg, Mark Daniels, Robert Robson, Darin Robson, Bill Robson, John St. Marie
HONORARY CASKETBEARERS: All of Lawrences nieces, nephews, great nephews, and Friends of the Library.
MILATARY HONORS: American Legion & VFW Posts