Saddleback College Professor Patricia Grignon Dies at 57

Saddleback College professor Patricia Grignon, an award-winning instructor who was one of the college’s original faculty members, died Wednesday following a 15-year battle with breast cancer. She was 57.

A professor of English literature and humanities for the past 28 years, Grignon was known for her contagious enthusiasm for teaching and an insatiable curiosity that went beyond the classroom, said Daniel Rivas, dean of Saddleback’s liberal arts division.

“She was one of those unusual people who made an unconditional commitment to their work,” Rivas said. “Teaching was her passion.”

The Dana Point resident had been recognized locally and at the state and national level for her teaching skills.

In 1993, she received the Hayward Excellence in Education Award from the Board of Governors of California Community Colleges, the highest honor given to community college professors. That same year, she received the Excellence Award from the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development.

During her career at Saddleback, she developed a variety of programs in the fields of writing, women’s studies, honors and interdisciplinary studies. She also had a knack for writing successful grant applications that brought in thousands of dollars for the school, officials said.

But those who knew Grignon say one of her most valuable lessons to others may have been her willingness to accept her illness, although she was hardly resigned to it.

“She dealt with it in a matter-of-fact manner,” said Saddleback College President Ned Doffoney, who often kept up with the busy Grignon by exchanging handwritten notes with her.

Doffoney recalled his last note from her, dated Dec. 27, in which she joked about having to interrupt her writing to get an oxygen infusion.

Lyn Becktold, a close friend and colleague, called Grignon “a lady with style. There was nothing that she wouldn’t do for you, and she didn’t wait to be asked.”

A memorial service will be held Jan. 25 in the McKinney Theatre at the Mission Viejo campus, and a scholarship fund has been established in her name.

Before her death, Grignon asked that donations be made to the scholarship fund in lieu of flowers.

Grignon is survived by her husband, Phil, and her sister and brother-in-law, Carolyn and Terry Voet.