Willis Rhodes Gruwell 1904-1993

GRUWELL, RHODES, ALBEE, STORY

Posted By: Merllene Andre Bendixen (email)
Date: 6/11/2012 at 21:53:52

Willis Gruwell
Dubuque – Memorial service for Willis Rhodes Gruwell, 88, of Dubuque, former Estherville resident, wsa held Saturday, Aug. 21, at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Dubuque.

He was born Oct. 5. 1904, at Dunnell, Minn., the son of George W. and Helen Rhodes Gruwell. He died Wednesday, Aug. 18, 1993, at Finley Hospital in Dubuque.

The Guwell family moved to Estherville from Dunnell, Minn. in 1912 and Willis attended Estherville schools, graduating with the class of 1923. While in high school he participated in football, basketball and track. He attended the University of Iowa, graduating in 1927. Following graduation he went to Rockford, Ill., where he was employed by the Sieg Co. He married Lila Albee in 1935 in Loves Park, Ill. In 1938 he was transferred to Dubuque and was general manager and president of Sieg-Dubuque at the time of his retirement in 1971.

He was active in Westminster Church and many other Dubuque organizations and was a supporter of the arts and education in the community.

He is survived by his wife Lila, a resident of Bethany Retirement home in Dubuque where the Gruwells had been living at the time of his death; and a sister, Dorothy Story of Estherville. (Estherville Daily News, Estherville, IA, August 26, 1993)