Gayle Oren Groves, 94, of Trevor, died Oct. 23, 2013, at Hospice Alliance Hospice House, Pleasant Prairie. He was born Dec. 30, 1918, in Pleasant Hope, Mo., to the late John and Emma Marie (Eichman) Groves. He had lived in Garfield, Ark., for many years before settling in Trevor in 2010.
Gayle proudly served in the U.S. Army 33rd Infantry Division during World War II, as an engineer. He enjoyed fishing, gardening, camping and RV’ing.
On Sept. 25, 1995, he married Mary B. (Yockey) LaPalm in Bentonville, Ark. Survivors include his wife of 18 years; his children, Patti (Dave) Brammer of Gainesville, Ga.; Michael (Jan) Groves of Rogers, Ark., and Vicki (Jim) Scott of Edwardsville, Ill.; stepchildren, Dorothy (Dwight) Vorpahl of Salem, Rose (Pat) Ames of Roscommon, Mich.; Leo (Heike) LaPalm, Jr. of Columbus, Ga.; Susan (Ken) Vollmer of Universal City, Texas; Nancy (Mike) Clark of Trevor; Kathryn (Chuck) Soper of Bassett; Mildred (Paul) Herbst of Frankfort, Ill.,and Karen (Ron) Lobodzinski of Antioch; eight grandchildren, 21 step-grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren, 24 step great-grandchildren; his sister, Ruth (George) Huff of Piedmont, Mo.;, and many nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, Gayle was preceded in death by his first wife, Nadine W. Groves, a brother Jack, sisters, June and Hope, and a stepson, Bill LaPalm.
Visitation will be held 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Strang Funeral Home of Antioch, 1055 Main St. Military honors will commence at 4:45 p.m. Those desiring may make contributions to Williams Syndrome Association, 570 Kirts Boulevard Suite 223, Troy Mich., 48084 or Pea Ridge Church of the Nazarene, 150 Barris Lane, Pea Ridge, Ark., 72751, in his memory.
Well-wishers can sign his online guestbook at www.strangfh.com