Wilma F. Groh 1922-2012

HELPHREY SPEER GROH

Posted By: Connie Swearingen-Volunteer (email)
Date: 8/7/2012 at 12:45:19

Sioux City Journal
April 20, 2012

Wilma F. Groh, 89, of Spring Valley, Calif., formerly of Sioux City, passed away Wednesday, March 7, 2012, at Promise Hospital in San Diego, Calif., due to complications following Kidney failure.

A celebration of life service will be 2 p.m. Saturday, April 21, at Morningside Chapel, Christy-Smith Funeral Home in Sioux City. The ashes will be interred in Graceland Park Cemetery. Visitation will follow the graveside service at the funeral home.

Wilma was born in Cedar Creek Township, near Fairfield, Iowa, on March 15, 1922, the daughter of Floyd and Rachel (Helphrey) Speer. She was the oldest of six siblings. She was followed by Berle A. Speer, Robert A. Speer, Barbara J. (Speer) Jamison, Donald L. Speer, and Verna R. (Speer) Shannon. She graduated from high school in Meridian, Idaho. She was known as a hardworking, family oriented person who gave of herself throughout all of her life. Wilma worked for the Greyhound Bus Company in Peoria, Ill.

She met her future husband, Robert W. Groh, there. They were married on June 12, 1947, in Fairfield, Iowa. Robert drove a semi-truck for 40 years. For five of those years, she drove the 18-wheeler with him. While residing in What Cheer, Iowa, Wilma was on the planning committee for the centennial celebration in 1965, which drew a record crowd of 15,000 participants.

Wilma belonged to the Order of the Eastern Star and the Women's Transportation Club while residing in Sioux City. She worked at Iowa Beef Packers (IBP) before retiring. Following the death of her husband, she moved to El Cajon, Calif., to be near her daughter.

She joined Foothills United Methodist Church in La Mesa, Calif. and was dedicated to service to others. At the age of 88, she began the Wil-Mat Project as a service project. Even though she was legally blind and had arthritis, she cut plastic grocery bags into strips and then crocheted them into sleeping mats for the homeless. She had received recognition from the UMW at Foothills United Methodist Church for her service to others. She was named by the Huffington Post as the Greatest Person of the Day on Jan. 9, 2012, and received a certificate of recognition from Calif. Assemblyman Brian Jones for her service to others and protecting the planet by recycling plastic.

She is survived by her daughter, Linda (Groh) Wikstrom; a stepdaughter, Charlene (Groh) Haight; grandchildren, Kristina (Wikstrom) Munoz, Jeremy Wikstrom, Dawn (Salchenberger) Vernon, Ronald Salchenberger, and Kimberly Salchenberger; great-grandchildren, Tawnie Munoz, Brandon Munoz, Grace Munoz, Alesha Vernon, Lucas Vernon, Ryan Shepard, and Cortney Wright; siblings, Berle Speer of Boulder, Colo., Barbara (Speer) Jamison of Birmingham, Iowa, Donald Speer of Marion, Iowa, and Verna (Speer) Shannon of Lincoln, Neb.; and 16 nieces and nephews and their children.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Floyd and Rachel; a brother, Robert; a daughter, Jonnie Kay and her husband, Robert.

Memorial donations may be made to the Wil-Mat Project c/o Linda Wikstrom or the Center for the Blind in San Diego. Continuing to give after death, she was a tissue donor.