Eugene C. “Gene” Gruwell, 16514 Sheryl Court, Plymouth, died at 6:45 p.m. in Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, Plymouth, from an apparent heart attack on Wednesday, March 23, 2005. He was 69 years old. He had been a resident of Plymouth since 1990, coming from Iowa City, Iowa.
Gene was born on January 5, 1936, in Springdale, Iowa. He was the son of Francis and Frieda Pedersen Gruwell. He graduated from West Branch High School.
From 1958 through 1960, Gene served in the United States Army.
On June 28, 1986, in Iowa City, Iowa, Gene and Ginny Blankenship were married.
He was a retired supervisor for United Technologies.
An outdoorsman, Gene liked to work outside. He especially liked being with his grandchildren and enjoyed animals of all kinds.
He is survived by his wife, Ginny, and their nine children and twenty grandchildren.
His children are, sons: Dean Gruwell, Oklahoma City, Okla.; Eric Coulter, Muscatine, Iowa; Larry Loring, Ft. Lewis, Wash.; and Chris Loring, Keokuk, Iowa.
Gene’s daughters are: Lori Gruwell and Kelly Dooley, both of Des Moines, Iowa; Toni Favorite, Plymouth, Ind.; Tari Hansen and Judy Forman, both of Iowa City, Iowa.
Other survivors are three brothers and three sisters. They are: Ron and Bernice Gruwell, Berryville, Ark.; Ed and Leona Gruwell, North Liberty, Iowa; Polly and Pat Maher, West Branch, Iowa; Thelma Baysinger, Oskaloosa, Iowa; Robert and Reta Gruwell, West Branch, Iowa; and Marilyn Marshall, Calinesa, Calif.
Gene was preceded in death by his parents and a grandson, Dustin Paul Loring.
Friends are welcome to visit with the family on Saturday, March 26, 2005, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Johnson-Danielson Funeral Home, 1100 N. Michigan St., Plymouth, Ind.
Funeral services for Gene will be in the funeral home following visitation at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 26, 2005.
Additional visitation will be at the Henderson – Barker Funeral Home in West Branch, Iowa, from 5 to 7 p.m. on Monday, March 28, 2005. Funeral services will be held in the funeral home at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 29, 2005.
Interment will be in the West Branch Cemetery, West Branch, Iowa.
Memorial gifts in Gene’s memory may be made to the American Heart Association.