Gruchow, William 1893-1940

GRUCHOW

Posted By: Paul Van Dyke-Volunteer
Date: 8/26/2014 at 00:17:16

Source: Hawarden Independent (2-8-1940)

Born: April 6, 1893
Died: 1940

William Gruchow, who had been employed on farms in the Hawarden community the greater part of the time for the past twenty-five years, suddenly dropped dead in the kitchen of the A.L. Anderson home, three miles north of Hawarden, about 9 o’clock Tuesday morning, the victim of a heart failure. He had complained the day before while visiting in the Lee Keehn home of a pain in his chest which he attributed to heart trouble, but aside from that had shown no sign of previous illness.

A brother, Max Gruchow, was notified at Vermillion and he came to Hawarden Tuesday noon and the body was taken to that place where the funeral services are to be held today.

William Gruchow was born at Kimdell, South Dakota, April 6, 1893, so was not yet 47 years of age. He moved with his parents to Vermillion when a small boy and grew to young manhood in that community. About twenty-five years ago he came to Hawarden and was first employed on the Chas. Dawson farm, northwest of town. He worked for various other farmers north of Hawarden and at times was employed with Milwaukee Railway Company bridge crews of Sioux City. He was almost never without some type of employment. Last year he was employed on the Robert Keeka farm and during the winter had been staying at the A.L. Anderson home, assisting with the chores. He was a steady and dependable hand and enjoyed the utmost confidence of those by whom he was employed. He was familiarly known to his friends as Bill Dugan and most of his acquaintances knew him by no other name. Always genial and friendly, he was universally popular among a wide circle of friends.

He enlisted in the Army during the World War and saw much hard service at the front overseas. He was quite severely gassed in action and still complained at times of feeling the effects of this experience.

Mr. Gruchow is survived by two brothers and four sisters. The two brothers and one sister resides at Vermillion, one sister lives at North Riverside, while the other two sisters reside in Western South Dakota.