Theodore V. “Ted” Granquist died on Sunday, May 12, 2024, as a result of multiple health conditions. A memorial service will be held at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Rochester at 2 p.m., Thursday, May 23. On Saturday, May 25th, a graveside service will be held at Edgington Cemetery at 11 a.m. with a visitation open house to follow at the Speer Funeral Home, Aledo, from 1 to 4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred for ELCA World Hunger, Doctors Without Borders, The Nature Conservancy, and Habitat for Humanity.
Son of Vernor and Lillian Granquist, he was born on June 22, 1935, in Miami, FL. After graduating from high school in Iron Mountain, MI, he attended Gustavus Adolphus College and Augustana Seminary (LSTC). Upon completing his internship training at Salem Lutheran Church in Bridgeport, CT, he was ordained into Lutheran ministry in 1961 in Seattle, WA. He was married to his faithful partner in ministry, Barbara Lloyd, on October 12, 1962.
Parishes served throughout his ministry included Transfiguration Lutheran Church, Taylor, MI; Bethany Lutheran Church, Batavia, IL; Calvary and Trinity Lutheran Churches, a two-point parish in Rapid River, MI; and Augustana Lutheran Church, Andover, IL. While in Andover he had the honor of welcoming King Karl Gustav XVI and Queen Silvia during the king’s visit to the historic Jenny Lind Chapel.
Ted found great meaning in living out his faith through involvement in synodical and community affairs. During the Civil Rights movement, he worked on a pan-Lutheran task force in the Detroit area called “The Churches’ Concern for a Diverse Society.” In Batavia, he served as a peacekeeper during the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago. He also worked on an open housing ordinance, and was part of a small committee that formed a park district along the Fox River to help preserve green space for future generations. While in Rapid River, he was part of a five-person committee that formed Bay de Noc hospice in Escanaba, one of the first rural hospices in the US. When thousands of jobs were lost near the Quad Cities in the farm crisis of the late ’80s, he was part of a listening ministry in the homes of laid-off workers and famers living “on the edge.” During retirement years, he served as a docent at the former Cascade Meadows Environment Center and was a Mayo Hospice volunteer for 14 years.
Ted’s hobbies included stamp collecting, polishing agates, and cross-country skiing. Ted loved to travel and see God’s creation, and was able to visit 49 of the 50 states during his life—missing only Alaska. He enjoyed family hiking and camping trips with children and grandchildren in the White Mountains, the Colorado and Canadian Rockies, and the Superior Hiking Trail along the North Shore. Especially meaningful were the family times spent at a log cabin on Little Pequaywan Lake near Duluth. Four generations have been a part of cabin life.
Along with his wife, Barbara, he is survived by a son, Timothy (Monika) of Fort Worth, TX; daughter, Suzanne (Steven) Rye of Baxter, MN; four dearly loved grandchildren, Becca and Kris Rye and Anja (Alex) Bilek and Joshua Granquist (Anna Main); special family friends, Caleb Harris and Nikka and Stuart Vrieze; a sister, Phoebe Peterson of Eau Claire, WI; and a brother, Luther (Anita Schermer) of Ventura, CA. A son, Mark, died in infancy.