THE COMPLETE INTERACTIVE

GRENZ FAMILY TREE

Debra D. Grenz, beloved wife of Donavin L. Grenz, died April 15, 2015, after a hard fought, but futile battle with cancer. Services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 22, at Peace Lutheran Church, Linton.

Visitation will be held Tuesday from noon to 5 p.m. at Myers Funeral Home, Linton, and continues from 6 to 9 p.m. at the church, where there will be a prayer service at 7 p.m.

Debra, the first child of Emanuel and Eileen (Wanner) Deyle, was born March 21, 1954, and was raised in the Wishek area. She graduated from Wishek High School in 1972, and instead of pursuing a degree in radiology, she married Kim Rath. In addition to raising four children and helping him with his farming operation, she and a friend operated Prairie Ceramics, and she also worked for the U.S. Post Office in Wishek. She was subsequently employed by Rosenbluth International in Linton and later by the U.S. Post Office in Linton and part-time as a secretary at the Grenz Law Office. For a time, she continued to operate her Prairie Workshop business in Linton, teaching painting and ceramics.

Following her divorce from Kim Rath, and the U.S. Post Office's failure to hire her as the postmaster at Linton, to replace her friend and mentor, Val Swensrud, she went to work full time as a legal secretary at the Grenz Law Office. In 2003, she received paralegal certification from the University of North Dakota and in 2005 was certified by the National Association of Legal Assistants', Inc. as a legal assistant and paralegal. On March 15, 2008, she married Donavin L. Grenz and worked full time as his office manager, bookkeeper, legal secretary and paralegal until cancer prohibited her from doing so.

Debra was a loving and caring person, a talented artist, homemaker, excellent cook, avid fisherwoman, and gardener who always planted more tomatoes and peppers than she could possibly use, so she could give them and her salsa, homemade soup, and canned and dehydrated products to family members and friends. Her smile, outgoing personality and willingness to help those in need were infectious.
She is survived by her four children, Bridgette (Randy) Readel, Nathan (Megan) Rath, Kary (Carl) Lindren and Timothy (Ashley) Rath and their seven children.

She was preceded in death by her father, Emanuel; and her grandparents, Adam and Lydia Wanner and Olga and Henry Deyle.

She will be deeply missed by her mother, Eileen Deyle; her brothers, Joel (Edina) Deyle and Mark (Marlene) Deyle and their four children; her four adult stepchildren, Angela (Tom) Golinvaux, Tana (Kent) Richter, Justin Grenz and Eric (Morgan) Grenz; her seven step-grandchildren who called her Nana Deb, Brooklyn and Julia Golinvaux, Grant and Carson Richter, Ashton Grenz and Chloe and McKenna Grenz; her nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and friends.

Except for his memories of her, there is now a huge void in her husband's life — to him she was not only indispensable, but also irreplaceable.



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