Lydia Gruis

Lydia L. Gruis of Waukon, age 90, died Sunday morning, December 13, 2009 at Good Samaritan Nursing Home.
Born Lydia Leone Lubben  Octoer 16, 1919, she was one of 10 children born to Lube and Sena (Ackkerman) Lubben of rural Buffalo Center. She grew up on the Lubben farm, Northeast of Buffalo Center, attending school through the eighth grade. Following school, she worked in the community cleaning houses and helping around the home farm. During WWII, Lydia traveled to Minneapolis, MN for training and then moved to Omaha, NE where she worked on B-17 and B-26 airplanes at the Glen L. Marten manufacturing plant. When the war ended, Lydia returned to Buffalo Center. She was married to Ben Gruis  June 26, 1945. She and Ben lived on the Gruis farm south of Buffalo Center for many years. While working on the farm as a homemaker, Lydia also worked at the Timely Mission Nursing Home in Buffalo Center as a nurses’ aide. In 1970, Lydia and Ben moved to an acreage three miles north of Buffalo Center and later to a home in Buffalo Center. Shortly after Ben Gruis died in 1994, Lydia moved to Waukon to be near her daughter and grandchildren.
Lydia was a faithful member of First Baptist Church for over 70 years, having attended regularly until she moved to Waukon. She expressed faith in Jesus Christ as personal Savior in 1937, was baptized July 25 and joined the church  August 1.
Lydia is survived by one daughter, Sharen and her husband, Russell of Waukon; a son, Larry and his wife, Becky of Pana, IL.; five grandchildren: Peggy (Bill) Harnack, Jill (Scott) Manning; Michael (Diane) Roth; Dawn (Chris) Barr and Shauna Gruis. She has ten great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild, a sister, Arlene Ostercamp of Titonka and a sister-in-law Dorothy Gruis of Buffalo Center.
Lydia was preceded in death by her husband, Ben Gruis.