Dorothy Ellen (nee Klockow) Grandine

Dorothy Grandine, a lifelong resident of Hartford, passed away on Thursday, January 15, 2026. She was 87 years old.  She was born in Hartford on June 22, 1938 to Robert F. and Ellen J. Klockow.  A 1956 graduate of Hartford High School, she enrolled briefly at UW-Milwaukee before transferring to UW-Madison.  While there, she met her soulmate John M. Grandine of Crandon, WI and the two were married on June 22, 1958.

Dorothy and John were active members of First United Methodist Church in Hartford.  Dorothy was a past president of United Methodist Women, and she was the business manager for the Tree Trim Workshop for more than 20 years.  She served as the chair of the Sanctuary Design Committee for the new church building, completed in 1975.  She worked at Broan Manufacturing for 17 years before working in the office of Lincoln Elementary School in the years leading up to retirement.

Dorothy was an avid and competitive card player, enjoying many different games:  pinochle, sheepshead, Pedro, 500, cribbage and many others.  But her favorite card game was contract bridge, and she, together with John, rose to the highest levels in the game, winning several dozen tournaments at the regional and national level over the course of her lifetime.  She was recognized by the American Contract Bridge League, as a Gold Life Master, a distinction fewer than 0.2% of competitive bridge players in the United States can claim.

She and John were avid Badger fans and longtime season ticket holders, and they made frequent trips to Madison to cheer on UW football, basketball and hockey teams.  She was also an avid knitter, specializing in Christmas stockings, of which she knit many dozens over the years for friends and family, no two ever exactly alike.  A favorite family tradition was to draw names to fill them and have everyone guess who the secret Santa might have been.

From the age of 8 Dorothy spent parts of every summer at Pine Lane on Little St. Germain Lake in Vilas County, eventually building the GrandInn cottage with John at the same location.  She hosted many friends there over the years, where thousands of hours were spent playing cards, fishing, picking berries, and enjoying the tranquility of the lake.

She was the last surviving member of the original Klockow family of Hartford, having been preceded in death by her parents and her brother Robert Klockow, Jr. as well as her husband John.  She is survived by her sons Thomas Grandine (Patty) of Seattle, WA and David Grandin (Lydia Zeller) of Madison, WI, granddaughters Hayley Cain McCaughan (Timothy McCaughan) of Issaquah, WA, Gabrielle Grandin of Stoughton, WI, Hannah Grandine of Seattle, WA, and Madeline Grandin (Ronald Filius) of Eliot, ME.  She is also survived by two great grandsons, Oliver Cain McCaughan and August McCaughan, both of Issaquah, WA, her sister-in-law Barbara Klockow of Hartford, and her one and only cousin Susan Kindle (Bill) of Madison, IN, as well as many nieces and nephews.

A Memorial Service will be held at the First United Methodist Church in Hartford on Friday, February 13 at 3:00pm, with visitation commencing at 1:30pm.

The Berndt-Ledesma Funeral Home- Hartford served the family. 

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