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Ray Grismer was published author, teacher, cosmetologist


Raymond Grismer, 83, passed away on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018, at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix, Ariz.
Mass of Christian Burial was held on Friday, Feb. 9, 2018, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Mandan, N.D. with Father Shane Campbell officiating.
Burial was in Black Hills National Cemetery, Sturgis, under the direction of Bismarck Funeral Home of Bismarck, N.D.
Raymond James Grismer was the eighth child born to Henry and Katherine (Mitzel) Grismer, on March 12, 1934, in Trail City. He attended school in Trail City and high school in Timber Lake.
He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1953, during the time of the Korean Conflict. He entered the Marines at San Diego, Calif., then served in Japan, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and was honorably discharged in 1956, in Albany, Ga. While in the Marines he was a heavy equipment operator. He was very proud to be a Marine.
Ray married Phyllis V. Schwartz in Trail City in 1954. To this union five children were born.
Throughout his life he had many careers. He attended Wahpeton School of Science, graduating with an associate mechanic degree; Moler Barber College, and New York Hairdressing Academy in Fargo, N.D. His cosmetology career began in Linton, N.D., and then he moved to Mandan to open his own hairstyling salon, Ray’s Beauty Center. In 1972, he purchased Jack’s Hairstyling College and changed the name to RD Hairstyling College, Inc., which he operated until his retirement in 2007. He was fortunate to touch the lives of many young students, giving career essentials for a fruitful career. Ray was an accomplished hairstyling artist, winning many awards in the cosmetology field, along with holding a patent for a “permanent wave pick,” copyright for the “Grismer Method of Permanent Waving,” and an established author of many cosmetology procedures, along with a book, “Baldness is Neither Hereditary or Necessary,” which was published in 1970.
As a businessman he was a member and active in many service organizations throughout his career: North Dakota Hairstyling and Cosmetology Association, Elks, Moose, Eagles, Jaycees, AmVets, Lions, Knights of Columbus and American Legion.
Ray’s passion in life was to ride a motorcycle to all the states in the United States. His travels took him to all the states in the lower 48, all the Canadian provinces, including Nova Scotia, culminating with his solo ride to Alaska in 2008.
He will be greatly missed by his soul mate of 40 years, Phyllis Linssen; his children, Rachelle Knight of Seattle, Wash., Dwight (Betsy) Grismer of Byron, Minn., Michael Grismer of Sauk Rapids, Minn., Tamara Grismer (special friend Thomas Karasch) of St. Joseph, Minn., and Kyle (Christine) Grismer of Woodbury, Minn.; eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren; his sister, Lillian (Marvin) Glatt; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Leo and Norbert; sisters, Veronica Perman, Frances Klein, Elenora Carlson, and Ursula Hahne; and siblings, Peter and Amalia, who died in infancy.

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