About Catherine Julia Christofilis-Grundman
Catherine Julia (CJ) Christofilis-Grundman, 77, died peacefully on Wednesday, July 7, 2021, at The Center at Val Vista in Gilbert, Arizona with her family by her side.
CJ was born in Oakland, CA on September 15, 1943, to Russell and Kate (Stimac) Tidd. She grew up in Little Falls, MN and spent a large portion of her life raising her children in Minnetonka, which brought her enormous pleasure. While her children were young, she volunteered with the MN JC’s and Hopkins Raspberry Festival. In 1980, she was named Executive Director of the festival and was excited to secure MN North Star’s hockey coach Glen Sonmor, as Grand Marshall. After accepting early retirement from IBM, she moved to AZ in 2007. CJ enjoyed reading, card playing, crafting and solving crossword puzzles. She also enjoyed watching professional hockey games and following her favorite golfer, Stuart Cink, on the PGA tour.
CJ will forever be in the hearts of her husband, Roger Donald Grundman Jr.; children: Todd Christofilis and Michelle Thorpe (Bryce); step-daughter, Kristine Zitzmann (Mark); five grandchildren: Dominic Christofilis, Kyle Christofilis, Joshua Zitzmann, Emily Zitzmann and Alex Zitzmann; four brothers: Mark (Joanie) Tidd, Greg Tidd, Jeff (Barb) Tidd and Phil (Linda) Tidd; along with numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives and dear friends.
The family wishes to thank the staff at Banner Gateway and The Center at Val Vista for their wonderful care.
A private ceremony will be held at a later date in Minnesota with immediate family. In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of CJ can be made to the Animal Humane Society or Coco’s Heart Dog Rescue at https://www.cocosheartdogrescue.org/donate-1 https://www.animalhumanesociety.org/donate/make-gift