Patricia Grignard, 82, passed away peacefully Oct. 11, 2021, after a three-year battle with leukemia.
Pat was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, to the late James Patrick Loughlin and Annette Amy Dubuc. She was the oldest of six children. She went to St. Peter’s High School and attended Clark University. She shared her father’s passion for the Democratic party as he was a long-time labor leader.
She married Emile Grignard and moved to Colts Neck in 1969 but never lost her Massachusetts accent. She was a great mother, wife, sister and friend to many. She cherished family time above all. She loved preparing holiday dinners. She was a great listener and was therefore the first person many would call. She had a very keen sense of intuition and provided great advice. She always kept up on current events in the daily paper and on CNN and MSNBC and loved a good political debate.
She began her career as the first employee of the Monmouth County Bar Association and retired after 30 years as the executive director and mentor to generations of Monmouth County lawyers. During her career she organized regular seminars on continuing professional education before it was required by the New Jersey Supreme Court. She helped developed the Monmouth Bar Foundation which gives scholarships to law school students. She was a strong supporter of the Monmouth County Legal Aid Society which provides legal assistance to indigents. She organized all the trustee and monthly bar association dinners, she created the monthly bar association newsletter, she excelled at coordinating all bar association events including many sports nights, blood banks and the lawyer referral program.
She leaves behind her two children, daughter Annette Grignard in Manhattan and son Etienne lll (TN) and his wife Kelly of Middletown; her cherished grandchildren Cleo and Etienne IV; siblings Paul Loughlin, Gail Hines, Kathy Carpenter and Sheila Loughlin-Lovas; as well as many nieces and nephews whom she adored.
She was predeceased by her husband Emile Etienne Grignard Jr. in 2020.
She would like to extend her gratitude to all the kind people who went out of their way to open doors when they saw her with her cane.
A memorial gathering will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 22 at Thompson Memorial Home, 310 Broad St., Red Bank. Facial masks are required.
In lieu of flowers please consider donating blood which was a great assistance to her. There will be a private family burial service.
To leave a message of condolence or to share a favorite memory, please visit Pat’s page at thompsonmemorial.net.
The article originally appeared in the October 21 – 28, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
