Jeanette Catherine Gruhn

Jeanette Catherine Gruhn lived one week past her 101st birthday on September 11, 2022. On that Sunday, she celebrated her birthday with family and friends at her apartment in Park Vista Retirement, Camanche. One week later on September 18, she passed on and said goodbye to all she loved.

Jeanette was born September 11, 1921, in Teeds Grove, Iowa, the daughter of Arthur and Ida (Huebner) Greve. She graduated from Sabula High School in 1938 and would have been the oldest alumni at the alumni banquet this year if she'd been able to attend. She taught in a one-room schoolhouse in her early years. She married Ervin Gruhn, September 6, 1942, and they farmed all their lives in the vicinity of Sterling Road, between Miles and Sabula. They raised five children, Eugene, Donald, Delbert, Raymond, and Arlene.

Jeanette was famous for her coconut cream pie and potato salad. The family found her cooking and baking irresistible. She was a firm believer in conserving the land; she was committed to planting trees. Her children grew up knowing the value of hard work. Family was always her first priority, and recreation on the farm often centered on family gatherings. She was alert to the very end of her life, and kept an eye on everything, especially the state of public affairs in America. She had an undying loyalty to her country and the Republican Party. Her Bible never left her side when she sat down at night. She knew her scriptures and treasured her days in Bible study on Sterling Road.

After Ervin passed in 1999, Jeanette resided in Miles, Iowa, before moving to Park Vista in Camanche. She was the oldest member of Calvary Lutheran Church, Sabula. Her children remain: Eugene (Janet), Donald (Laurel), Delbert (Linda) Gruhn, and Arlene (Dean) Schauf; 14 grandchildren, 33 great-grandchildren, 5 great-great grandchildren, and several step grandchildren. Two sisters, Yvonne Meier of Preston, Donna Galusha of Clinton, two brothers Lester (Shirley) Greve of Sabula, and Willis (Glorianne) Greve of Bryant, and many nieces and nephews. Jeanette was preceded in death by her husband Ervin, her son Raymond, 3 brothers, Gary, Lee, and Ben Greve, two sisters, Alice Kroeger and Visetta Leonard, a great-granddaughter Ilah Ray Portz, and a brother in infancy, Richard.

A funeral service will be held 11 a.m. on Thursday, September 22, 2022, at Calvary Lutheran Church in Sabula. Visitation will be Wednesday, September 21, 2022, from 5pm to 7pm at Law Jones Funeral Home, in Preston, IA, as well as one hour prior to Thursday’s service, at the church. Burial will be at Miles Cemetery following the church service.