Van Groftigen, John 1900-1981

VAN GROFTIGEN, OBERNIAN

Posted By: Joanne Schlichte-volunteer (email)
Date: 6/26/2012 at 15:35:16

JOHN VAN GRONIGEN

John Van Groftigen, 80, a former Alton mayor and city councilman, died Thursday, August 27, at an Orange City hospital after a long illness. Services were at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at St. Mary's Catholic Church with the Rev. 'David Hogan .officiating. Burial was in the parish cemetery under the direction of the Fisch' Funeral Home of Remsen. The rosary was recited at 3 and 8 p.m. Friday at the church,

Mr. Van Gronigen was born Dec. 26, 1900, at Hospers. His family moved to Alton when he was a child. He married Olivia Obernian on April 19, 1927, at Granville. He was an accountant for the F.M. Single Lumber Co. for 43 years and was later employed by the Osceola Cooperative
Creamery at Sibley and in Laurel, Neb. He was mayor of Alton for eight years and a city councilman for nine years. He was a charter member of the Alton Rotary Club, a member of the Alton Chamber of Commerce and secretary of the Alton Building and Loan Association and the
Alton Bowling Association for many years. He was also a member of the Alton Fire Department.
He was instrumental in organizing the first Alton locker plant and the Palace Movie Theater. He owned and managed the Alton and Orange City movie theaters from 1942 to 1946.

He was a member of the St. Mary's Catholic Church. Survivors include the widow; two daughters, Mrs. Robert (Joan) Matheson of Newton and Mrs. Jane Mullen of Minneapolis; six grandchildren, and two brothers, Clarence of Orange City and Theodore of Colorado Springs, Colo.

Source: Sioux Center News September 2, 1981