Grady Steensrud, 77, of Kennesaw, GA, passed away on Tuesday, September 28, 2021 at WellStar Community Hospice Tranquility at Cobb in Marietta, Georgia.
He was born in Madison, Wisconsin to Gerhard (Gay) and Eileen Grim Steensrud. Grady married Susan (Sue) Greider on December 27, 1969, at Wesley Methodist Church in La Crosse, WI. They were fortunate enough to celebrate 51 years together this past December.
Grady and Sue had daughter Carrie in 1975 when they lived and worked in Brooksville, FL. Carrie was the grateful recipient of her father's athletic coaching, board game competitions, jokes, loving counsel and protective heart. The family left Florida and returned to Wisconsin for ten years and then to Georgia, where they have remained for over 30 years.
Grady graduated from Monroe High School, Monroe, WI and then went on to earn a B.S Degree in Physical Education from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and an M.S Degree in Counseling from the University of Wisconsin-Stout, in Menomonie, WI. Grady was a recognized athlete, playing in the quarterback position in high school and college. He set the State of Wisconsin High School and La Crosse State University pole vaulting records. He was inducted into the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Wall of Fame, receiving the Award for Athlete: 1963-1967, in October, 1992.
Grady entered the U. S. Army on December 10, 1968. During his military service, he completed 1,283 freefall parachute jumps and established a world record for parachuting accuracy, scoring 7 out of 10 dead centers as a member of the U. S. Army Parachute Team, The Golden Knights. In addition, he was the first person to compete in the U. S. Parachuting Association's (USPA) National Parachuting and Skydiving Championships with an experimental Ram-air parachute. He was a member of The American Legion Post 29, Marietta, GA.
A dedicated professional, Grady had a diversified employment background serving as a marriage and family counselor, psychotherapist, training and development consultant and university golf, track and cross-country assistant coach. He embraced the qualities of good humor, which developed long term friendships lasting to this day. It was not unusual for him to dress in his Elvis or Indiana Jones attire and entertain family and friends.
While Grady's parents are deceased, he is survived by wife Sue and daughter Carrie, in addition to sisters Gayleen Lenatsch and husband, Pete of Ruidoso, New Mexico and Rogene Powers and husband Gary Kalian of Scottsdale, AZ, sister-in-law Patti Greider of St. Louis Park, MN, and brother-in-law Jerry Greider of La Crosse, WI, and many nieces, nephews and cousins and their families.
Remembrance gifts in Grady's honor can be made to a charity of your choice or to the family by mail to:
Woodstock Funeral Home - Attn: Family of Graydon Steensrud, 8855 Main Street, Woodstock, GA, 30188
