Dennis Grady

Dennis Grady was born on October 6, 1950 in Mecklenburg County, family home in Belmont, NC, to Thomas Francis Grady and Rosemary Loughran Grady.  Dennis died on July 26, 2024, at home in Boone, NC, after battling cancer for a year.

Dennis graduated from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Georgia Tech University, Atlanta; Emory University, Atlanta, GA. He was an urban planner with the Community Design Center in Atlanta and with NC State Government Department of Administration in Raleigh. After teaching his first college class at Meredith College in Raleigh, he began his lifelong career as a University Professor and administrator at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, spent most of his career at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC and retired from Radford University in Radford, Va.

He was predeceased by his parents, and his sister-in-law, Mary Beth O’Brien Grady.

He is survived by his wife, Martha Stephenson of Boone, NC; son, Ryan Grady of Boone, NC; son, Conor Grady, and daughter-in-law, Catherine Chiabaut, of Vacaville, CA; brother, Tom Grady, and sister-in-law, Lou Grady, of Chapel Hill, NC; nephew, Tom Grady, of Chapel Hill; niece, Virginia Purcell and her husband, Michael, and their children, Grady and Mason; brother, Kevin Grady, of Atlanta, GA; nephew, Martin Grady and his wife Maggie Grady and their children, Kevin and  Elisabeth, of Atlanta, GA; nephew, Donald Grady of Washington, DC.

Dennis was a gentleman and a scholar who dedicated his life to making any community he was in, better. This commitment was manifest through his work with Watauga Youth Network (now Western Youth Network) and North Carolina’s pivot toward sustainable energy.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made directly to Western Youth Network, 134 Doctors Dr, Boone, NC 28607 or to Amorem Hospice online at https://www.amoremslupport.org/donate.

A celebration of Dennis’ Life (drop-in standing reception, remarks 4:00) will be on Saturday, September 14 in ASU's Plemmons Student Union Solarium from 3-5:30. Parking available in the lot behind the Union and elsewhere on campus.

Online condolences may be shared at the website www.austinandbarnesfuneralhome.com

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