Obituary of Jeanne Gross
A Graveside Service for Jeanne Gross, age 92, of Lake Park will be held on Saturday, June 10, 2023 at 9:00am at Silver Lake Cemetery in Lake Park. A Reception will immediately follow the service at the First Presbyterian Church in Lake Park.
Dorothy Jeanne (Shafer) Gross, died on December 9, 2022, at the age of 92, at the home of Robert Shafer, in West Point, Utah.
Jeanne was born on January 31, 1930 to Hadley and Gladys Shafer of Lake Park, Iowa.
She graduated from Lake Park High School in May 1948, and later graduated from the Iowa State Teachers College (now University of Northern Iowa) in June 1950.
She began her teaching career in Algona, Iowa and in 1953, she began teaching in Lake Park, Iowa, for about five years.
During the summer of 1956, she met the love of her life, Elmer Fredrick George Gross of Glidden, Iowa, and after a courtship that last a little longer than a year, the two were married in the home of Hadley and Gladys Shafer of Lake Park, Iowa on June 15, 1958. She moved to Elmer’s home in Glidden, Iowa along with her two children Roberta Joan and Hadley Jay who were later adopted by Elmer.
Jeanne is survived by her son Hadley Jay Gross, her sister Joan Miller-Hoye (also known as her cohart of all kinds of adventures and mischief) of Lake Park, Iowa, her brother Robert Shafer of West Point, Utah, a multitude of nieces and nephews on the Gross side, and nieces and nephew and great nieces and nephews from her sister’s and brother’s respective families.
While Jeanne resided in Glidden, she not only taught in the Glidden Elementary school, she also sought a degree in art from Buena Vista College, applying her artistic talents in multiple painting mediums such as acrylic, water color, oil, etc. She also became very adept at make floral arrangements especially for weddings and special occasions of which people from both Glidden and later Lake Park sought her abilities.
Jeanne and Elmer later moved to Lake Park, Iowa in 1971 where they acquired Hadley Shafer’s Plumbing and Heating business. After Mr. Shafer’s retirement, Elmer’s highly skilled electrical trade, was added to the plumbing and heating business making it a strong multi-trade operation. Elmer retired from this business venture in 1995.
Jeanne is preceded in death by her parents, Hadley and Gladys Shafer, her husband, Elmer Gross, her daughter Roberta Joan Gross, a plethora of brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, and various nieces and nephews from both sides of the two families.
In 2016, Jeanne moved to Spirit Lake, Iowa into the Welcov Assisted Living Center, where she lived for five years This precipitated the decision by her brother, Robert Shafer as agreed to by all family members, for him to take her to Utah where he would care for her in his home until her passing.
