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Grindinger, JoAnn M.

July 31, 1931 –
 August 3, 2018

Obituary

JoAnn McCrary Grindinger, born on July 9, 1931, spent the war years living with her grandparents on their Marysville Kansas farm, while her father, Kenneth B. McCrary, served in the South Pacific and her mother, Kathleen, worked in Kansas City. On August 3, 2018, she passed peacefully in the company of several of her children. After the war, JoAnn returned to the family home in Kansas City, MO to complete her Catholic education at Loretto Academy. While at Loretto, she skated competitively and became an accomplished pianist. At 17, JoAnn performed with the Kansas City Symphony. JoAnn married Thomas J. Grindinger in 1950 and eventually they moved from Kansas City to Dallas. As an only child, JoAnn wanted a large family and raised six children, five sons and one daughter: Tommy, Kathi, Dennis, Steven, Jimmy and Kent. As a mother, JoAnn rarely used the words, “You must.” Instead she challenged her children with “You can.” She was tireless, and, attending hundreds of sporting events, cared little about the final score, but more about who was hurt. With many of her sons playing football, she routinely removed stitches at the kitchen table and one time removed a plaster cast with a pair of gardening shears. If she had mothering flaws, which might include the ham “salad” that was an unsavory mixture of food found in the refrigerator, then they were easily forgiven, because, without reservation, she loved and protected her children as a fierce mother lion. For twenty years JoAnn worked as Jesuit’s Alumnae Secretary; and there she supported and encouraged hundreds of boys as they matured into men. If Jesuit’s motto is “Men for Others,” then she was certainly a “Woman for Others.” Mom was the life of any family gathering. She was known to throw post game parties at a moment’s notice. She was our family’s center and took great pride and joy watching her family grow larger over the years. In addition to her six children, she leaves behind five daughters-in-law – Shannon, Catherine, Sue, Chrissy and Kelly and one son-in-law, Larry Jones, sixteen grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. We now take comfort that the magnitude of our loss will be mitigated by the happy memories of our beloved Grandma Jojo.

A memorial service celebrating JoAnn’s life will be held at St. Rita Catholic Church in Dallas at 11 am on Tuesday, August 14.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made in JoAnn Grindinger’s memory to the Jesuit Memorial Fund at Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas, 12345 Inwood Road, Dallas TX. 75244.  

A Signature Service under the direction of: Aria Cremation Service & Funeral Home 10116 E. Northwest Highway Dallas, Texas 75238 214-340-8008

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"Excellent customer service, they made you feel like you were their only customer. Very helpful and explained what we should expect during the process. They basically took care of our needs during this time. They contacted DFW National Cemetery for us which made it a smooth experience. Definitely will use them again."
K. Barker
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"I was amazed how professional the team at Aria Funeral Preston Dallas Texas are. They guided me through the process and my options of their services that they offered for my mother. They are compassionate, caring, calm, good listener, efficient and did an excellent job! Thank you!"
R. Woll
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"If I could give 6 stars I would. Aria made a difficult easier to deal with by basically taking care of everything in an efficient but very empathetic manner. I can speak highly enough of Dusty Martin, who helped us with all of the planning and logistics. He was incredibly understanding and helpful."
Angel M.
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"Nothing prepares you for the grief you go through when losing a child. I called this funeral home at 2:00 am broken and could barely talk. The amount of compassion and empathy they showed me immediately let me know I found the right place to cremate my son. I cannot thank them enough for their professionalism, SINCERE concern, and commitment to making sure my son was honored in the most respectful way. I hope this Funeral home values her as much as my family and I do."
McGee Family
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"Wayne and Staff, thank you for taking care of the arrangements for our mom, Exter McGee and our dad, Philip McGee. You have been great to work with during such a difficult time."
Elledge Family
Elledge Family
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"On behalf of my family, I wanted you to know how much we appreciate your handling of my husband's final arrangements. Wayne Baxter assisted & guided us through the entire process with such care & compassion. Don't know what we would have done without him! Sincerely, Colleen Elledge"
The Peterson Family
The Peterson FamilyYelp! Review - Northwest Highway 5-Stars
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"I can’t say enough about how helpful and professional Dusty Martin, the funeral director at the Aria Cremation location on NW Highway has been. From my initial call, he was kind and informative. My friend died at home while on hospice and she was picked up in about an hour after receiving the call from the hospice nurse. The person who arrived to pick her up was also very professional/respectful and allowed us to take as much time with her as we wished. When I met with Dusty the next day about arrangements, he explained the process and options available without being pushy or trying to “sell” extras. Throughout the process, he kept me informed and, for example, was careful to be certain I understood the cost of the obituary I wanted and offered some options for reducing that cost if I wished. When I stopped by for another reason and started talking about some of the problems I was having with the pictures and media I hoped to use at a memorial lunch I was planning, he not only listened patiently but offered technology advice and let me use his personal media player. I have had experience arranging cremations for four others using two other local companies, and this experience with Dusty at Aria has been by far the best one I have had."
Paula Barnes
Paula BarnesGoogle Review
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"My Daddy’s service and our family experience at Aria Northwest Highway was truly blessed. Funeral Director Dustin Martin is the kind of person that you would like to see on a more regular basis – but in his industry – you hope to not see him that often. That being said – THANK YOU DUSTIN for your unending kindness, compassion and friendship through the process. Meeting you and discussing Dallas History, Find A Grave and my Dad’s lifelong contributions to the great City of Dallas was simply wonderful! In memory of my dad James A. Dodd, Sr. – I want to personally thank you and let you know that you made everything better in that moment. Your calling to “Be There” is spot on. Aria has a one in a million guy in you! Bling Blinky of TEXAS Shout Out: God Bless You!!"
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  1. If death has occurred and or is imminent, please call the Aria location nearest you.

    PRESTON ROAD
    214.306.6700

    NORTHWEST HIGHWAY
    214.340.8008

    BELTLINE ROAD
    972.607.4400

  2. Click here to Download the Cremation Forms.
  3. Have the cremation authorization form notarized
  4. Fax the forms back to us at:
    • NW Highway
      214-340-8009
    • Preston Rd.
      972-526-7410
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      972-573-1008
 

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