Donald (Donte) Louis Grinenko

 Donald (Donte) Louis Grinenko, 88, of Lynchburg, Virginia, passed away Saturday, February 8, 2025 surrounded by his family at Westminster Canterbury. He was the son of the late Andrew Grinenko and Anna Anipen Grinenko.

Donte was born on July 21, 1936, in Dearborn, Michigan. A retired school social worker, Donte loved to coax fresh vegetables and lush flowers out of the sandy soil in St. George Island Florida, where he and his wife Dee moved after raising their three daughters in Dover, FL.

As a young man, Donte was the captain of the football team at Fordson High School and later played football at Eastern Michigan University. He completed his Masters of Social Work at Wayne State University, writing his thesis on the innovation of group therapy for youth experiencing hardship. Caring for youth facing challenges was a passion he kept alive throughout his career in Pinellas County Florida, where he introduced middle-schoolers to baby chicks and sprouting seeds as part of their healing.

The first in his Ukranian-immigrant family to graduate college, he loved to be outdoors, tending an orange grove and raising his own pigs, chickens, cows and sheep on a five-acre farm. He made his own beer, sauerkraut and dill pickles, long before Pinterest told us how. Donte was an advocate of education, and was especially proud that each of his daughters achieved doctorates, one as a physician, one as a theologian, and one as a veterinarian. He and his wife enjoyed sixty-four years of marriage.

Donte is survived by his loving wife, Dee (Donna) Otte Grinenko; children, Dawn Grinenko (Craig Kitchens) of Hayesville, NC; Dori Baker (Lincoln) of Lynchburg; and Deidre Grinenko (Amy New) of Albuquerque NM; grandchildren, Erin Baker of Los Angeles, CA and Olivia Baker of Taos, NM ; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his granddaughter Sophia Marie Baker.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to thestillplace.org or OurOwnDeepWells.com, youth-serving organizations founded by his daughters. Another favorite charity is the St. George Island FL Lighthouse, which he helped restore.

The family expresses gratitude to his many caregivers. Celebration of his life will occur in a private memorial service.

Tharp Funeral Home & Crematory, Lynchburg is assisting the family.