Marrett Dale Broady Grund

Marrett Dale Broady Grund, 46 of Mankato, died suddenly on June 28, 2019 at Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato.

Memorial service will be held 11a.m., Friday, July 5, 2019 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Mankato with visitation starting at 9a.m. at the church. In lieu of flowers, please give memorials to the family towards educational savings for his daughter, Cecilia, or to Wecovery, 509 South Front Street, Mankato. Mankato Mortuary is assisting the family.

Marrett was born January 15, 1973 to Dale and Kay (Fenger) Grund in New Ulm, Minnesota. He graduated from New Ulm High School in 1991 and attended MSU Mankato where he earned his B.S. in Biology. Through an internship with the Minnesota DNR, he discovered his love for wildlife ecology. He was married for the first time in 1995, before moving to the University of Missouri where he completed his Master’s degree in wildlife ecology. He and his wife moved to Carbondale, Illinois where he completed his Ph. D. at Southern Illinois University.

His oldest daughter, Cameron, was born in 2000 in Carbondale, and the family moved soon after to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he led white-tailed deer research for the Pennsylvania DNR. Kendall was born in Pittsburgh in 2003, then the family moved back to Mankato to be nearer Marrett’s family, when he was offered a position with the Farmland Wildlife Populations and Research office of the Minnesota DNR in Madelia. He worked with the DNR until 2014, when he decided to pursue becoming a Lutheran pastor, something he’d considered from the time he was in high school.

In 2009, shortly after Caden was born, Marrett sought treatment for alcoholism and has been in recovery ever since. The recovery community in Mankato carried him through his divorce in 2011, and Caden’s diagnosis with autism in 2012. He also worked tirelessly to carry others in recovery when they needed support, often dropping everything to get someone into treatment.

Marrett met Collette through mutual friends in 2012, and he knew from the first date that he loved her. They became best friends, and taught each other to believe in God’s grace more deeply. They married in 2014, and Marrett became a dedicated stepfather to Ollie. The final addition to the Broady Grund family, Ceci, was born in 2017. Marrett will be remembered for his kindness, his deep love for all kinds of people, and his faithfulness to his family and his God.

Marrett is survived by his wife, Collette; children, Cameron, Kendall, Caden, and Cecilia; step-son, Oliver; father, Dale; and siblings, Geraye (Steve) Menk, Ferris Grund, and Crystal (Renee MacLeod) Grund. He is preceded in death by his mother, Kay.