Carolyn E. Grunewald

Carolyn E. Grunewald (nee York) Age 96, November 26, 2015 Beloved Wife of the late Carl Loving Mother of Karen Klammer, and Richard (Patricia) Grunewald. Proud Grandmother of Katherine (Greg) Madianos, Kelly (Brent) Morton, and Jeff (Lisa) Grunewald. Dear Great-Grandmother of Kaeden, Gabriella, Anna Lisa, Mila, Carly, Otto, and Audrey. Raised on a farm near Saginaw, she grew up working in the fields with her father and siblings and has always loved working with her hands ~ gardening, cooking, sewing, quilting, embroidery, crafts of all kinds! While working at Burroughs during World War II, she met Carl Gruenwald at the Vanity Ball Room. They were married a year later. They had Karen in 1944 and Rick in 1948. In 1947 they bought the cottage at Union Lake that became their year-round home in the 1970's. Over the years, Carolyn created a beautiful garden in the yard there, watched the birds, yelled at the squirrels who raided her bird feeders and carried on a personal war with a family of moles in her lawn. She was a tireless housekeeper, in addition to wonderful holiday dinners and her famous Banana Chocolate Cake, Carol and Carl entertained their friends from the city every weekend during the summer at Union Lake with delicious hamburgers and boat rides, water skiing, and "swims in deep water." Long into her 80's, she'd be found at the kitchen sink cleaning up the dinner dishes unless someone else beat her to it! She treasured her grandchildren ~ Katherine, Kelly, and Jeff, and loved having them stay with her. She was still spending her summers at Union Lake when her great-grandchildren ~ Kaeden, Gabriella, Anna Lisa, Mila, Carly, Otto, and Audrey, began arriving and found great joy in having babies to hold again. In 1984 she lost the love of her life when Carl passed away. A couple of years later she became a snowbird and began commuting to Bradenton, Florida every winter. She never missed the snow! Her life in Florida was filled with friends and fun. She lived next door to her Cousin Lorraine who shared her birthday and they traveled, played cards, and bingo, rode their trikes around the mobile park, and chaired the "Busy Bees" group of women that sewed layettes for single mothers. She lived by the rule "This is the day the Lord Gave me, rejoice and be glad in it" She will be remembered by the her chuckle when she didn't understand something. She was chuckling all the way to heaven. She had only one true love in her life, Carl, bless his soul. With his multitude of issues in his life she stood by him and took care of him until he passed away. Never complaining and never waving on her love for him. She knew no one else could ever replace the love they had for each other. During the last 5-10 years, her care-givers all talked about her cheerfulness! She always has a positive attitude despite the hardships she faced. She recognized and appreciated God's blessings in her life. She could often be heard whistling or humming. She read the comics in the newspaper every day. In addition to her volunteer work, most of it for the church or the Lutheran High School her children attended, she made contributions to a wide variety of charities. For those who might wonder how to live strong into your 96th year, here is her formula: *Start everyday with a glass of orange juice...fresh is possible *Keep MandM's in a glass jar on your computer *Drink little alcohol but eat ice cream as often as possible *Take a half hour nap every day at 3pm *Keep busy and never shy away from work *Do all things in moderation! Visitation at the Wm Sullivan and Son Funeral Home 8459 Hall Road (3 Blks E. of Van Dyke) Utica Monday10am until time of funeral service 12 (Noon) Interment Forest Lawn CemeteryDetroitMichigan Family request donations to St. Marks Lutheran Church 7979 Commerce Road West Bloomfield, MI 48324 Please share a memory at www.sullivanfuneraldirectors.com

Carolyn E. Grunewald

June 5, 1919 - November 26, 2015