Grau, Neil Martin 1971-2013

GRAU, MCBROOM, LARA, CHRISTENSEN, MCGRANAHAN, GODDARD

Posted By: Ruth Maring (email)
Date: 8/20/2013 at 10:22:15

Neil M. Grau, 42, of Bourbonnais, Illinois, formerly of DeWitt, Iowa, died Sunday evening, July 7, 2013.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 13, at 2 p.m. at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in Bourbonnais, IL. David McKean will be officiating. There will also be a memorial service held at the Comfort Inn Banquet Hall, Maquoketa, Iowa, on Tuesday, July 16, at 11a.m. Ron Heneke will be officiating.

Neil Martin Grau was born June 1, 1971, in Maquoketa, Iowa, to Roger L. and Lucille (McBroom) Grau.

On November 18, 1988, Neil was baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. He became a full-time minister of Jehovah's Witnesses later that year. Neil volunteered at the Patterson Educational Center in Patterson, New York, from April 1992 to June 2008. He looked back on those sixteen years with great fondness. Neil served as an Elder in the congregation since 2001.

Neil married Danielle E. Lara on June 2, 2007, in Brentwood, New York, at the local Kingdom Hall. Together they continued volunteering at the Patterson Educational Center for one year. They were then assigned to the Kankakee, Illinois, Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses to serve where there was a need for more volunteer Bible teachers. They were so happy to have the congregation become their close spiritual family.

Neil graduated from Central Community Schools, DeWitt, Iowa, in 1990. He loved the outdoors and enjoyed his passion of landscaping. Neil's curious nature led him to travel the world spanning five continents. He was an avid sports fan and enjoyed going to sporting events, while always rooting for his home team, the Iowa Hawkeyes. Neil's kind heart and infectious sense of humor were characteristics that his family and friends loved most about him.

He is survived by his wife, Danielle Lara-Grau; his parents Roger and Lucille Grau; sisters Denise (Neil) Christensen of Calamus, IA; Peggy (Jerry) McGranahan of DeWitt, IA; and Cindy (Dean) Goddard of Delmar, IA, and brother, Alan (Amy) Grau of Ankeny, IA and many nieces and nephews.