Grace Ruth Denham Keillor

Keillor, Grace Ruth Denham Beloved mother, grandmother, aunt and friend, died July 27, 2012 at her home in Brooklyn Park, MN. She was 97. One of 13 children of Scottish immigrants, she grew up in south Minneapolis, attended Roosevelt High School, trained as a nurse and went to work at the former Eitel Hospital. Grace was caring, strong, and persevering throughout her life, supported by her strong faith in Jesus Christ. She loved her family, and enjoyed playing Scrabble, storytelling, reading, and singing hymns. She married John Keillor in 1936. She is preceded in death by John, her son J. Philip Keillor, Jr., her 9 sisters and 3 brothers. She is survived by children Judith Locke, Garrison (Jenny), Steven (Margaret), Stan (Kay), Linda (David) Berg, 14 grandchildren and 21 great grandchildren. The family wishes to thank her wonderful caregivers: Sharon, Nicole, Ramona and Dianne. Private service. Arrangements by Washburn-McReavy Hillside Chapel

BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. (AP) — Grace Keillor, the mother of “A Prairie Home Companion” host Garrison Keillor, has died at age 97.

Garrison Keillor says his mother died Friday at her home in Minnesota “with her children around her holding her hand and singing hymns.”

Keillor says his mother “had a good long life and was still lucid a couple weeks ago and even had a good laugh about a dream she had.”

Grace Ruth Denham was born in Minneapolis on May 7, 1915. She married John Keillor in 1936, and the couple raised six children in a Brooklyn Park house that John Keillor built in 1947.