John Grande, 83, Buckeye, AZ

John Grande, age 83, formerly of Byron, MN passed away on September 19, 2024, in Buckeye, Arizona, from complications due to Parkinsons Disease.

John Gordon Grande was born on March 15, 1941, to Carl and Marion (Bostrom) Grande. He was the oldest of six children. John grew up in Byron and graduated, in 1959, from Byron High School. While in high school, John set a career scoring record for boys’ basketball. This scoring record stood for 42 years. In 2010, John was inducted into the Byron High School Athletic Hall of Fame. After high school, John attended Hamline and Winona State Universities where he received a degree in mathematics. John and Carol, his first wife, married in Minnesota and then moved to California where they had 2 children. They later divorced.

While in California, John was a math teacher and a basketball coach at Bonita Vista High School. John was a dedicated teacher and during his teaching career, John was awarded Bonita Vista Teacher of the Year. He attended graduate school at San Diego State University where he earned his master’s degree in education. John was also a math instructor at Southwest College. John enjoyed playing tennis and continued to play tennis, well into his 70’s.

After 37 years of teaching and coaching, John retired and moved back to Minnesota with his wife Silvia. John and Silvia eventually moved to Buckeye, Arizona and continued with their retirement life.

John is survived by his wife Silvia, his daughter Heidi (Charles) and his son Scott. He is survived by his siblings; Carole Butterfass, James (Alicia), David (Linda), Mark (Dawn) and Ruth (Rob) Barta. His parents preceded him in death, and he is also preceded in death by Dan Butterfass, his brother-in-law.

Services were held in Arizona and John’s wishes were honored with distribution of his ashes in rural Byron. Blessed be his memory.