Obituary of Richard Grund

Richard John Grund, 75, Wisconsin Rapids, died early Thursday, December 6, 2012 at Saint Joseph?s Hospital, Marshfield. Services will be at 12:00 PM on Monday, December 10 at the First Congregational Church in Wisconsin Rapids. Reverend Paul Veldman will officiate. Visitation will be from 10:00 AM until the time of services at the church on Monday. Burial will follow the funeral service at Restlawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Town of Grand Rapids. Richard was born September 5, 1937 in St. Louis, Missouri to Arthur and Nora (Doelling) Grund. After graduating from Southwest High School in St. Louis, he attended Iowa State University in Ames, IA and earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering. Richard?s first job out of college was working in Technical Sales Service for Clinton Corn Processing Company in Clinton, IA. 2 ½ years later, on February 1, 1962, he began working for the Nekoosa Edwards Paper Company as a Research Engineer. During this time he met his future wife, Natalie Stone; they were married on August 12, 1967. As the years progressed, Richard advanced through several positions and retired from Georgia Pacific (the successor to Nekoosa Edwards Paper Company) as the Manager of Environmental Affairs on August 31, 1994. Richard was a dedicated family man throughout his life, loving his wife, sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren. His favorite interest was photography, which began when he was a small child and stayed with him throughout his life. Early on, Richard had his own dark room to develop negatives; this transitioned to slides and later on into digital photography. Over the years, Richard was a member of the Lake States TAPPI Association, holding several offices, and he was a member of the Nekoosa Lions Club. Richard is survived by his beloved wife of 45 years, Natalie; sons, Steve (Jaime) of Hebron, KY and Mike (Melissa) of Eden Prairie, MN; grandchildren, Jack, Will, Thomas and Leah; cousin, Diane Goodwin of Houston, TX; and many extended family and friends. He is preceded in death by his parents and sister, Carol Burtis. Richard?s spirit will touch the lives of many people through donations made to the Lions Eye Bank of Wisconsin and RTI Donor Services. Herman-Taylor Funeral Home is assisting the family.