LF_061319

22 | June 13, 2019 | The lake forest leader FAITH
LakeForestLeader.com
Faith Briefs
Faith Lutheran Church
(680 West Deerpath, Lake Forest)
Mid-week Bible Study
Join us for mid-week
Bible Study each Wednesday
from 10-11 a.m. in the
Adult Forum Room. The
Parables of Jesus are being
studied. The Lord’s Supper
is offered after each class.
First Presbyterian Church
(700 Sheridan Road, Lake Forest)
Summer Worship
Through Sept. 1 at 10
a.m., followed by fellowship.
Taking Contempt out of
Contention by Softening
Hearts; Not Changing
Minds
Saturday, June 15, 9
a.m.–1:30 p.m. Invite family
and friends to an engaging,
practical workshop
on Untying the Knots of
Polarization, led by Mike
McGillicuddy, LCSW, in
Fellowship Hall. Details
and RSVP: firstchurchlf.
org/polarization-workshop
Church of St. Mary
(175 E. Illinois Road, Lake Forest)
Eucharistic Adoration
Each Wednesday, the
Church of St. Mary offers
Eucharistic Adoration following
the 8 a.m. Mass. A
rosary will be prayed each
week at 6:40 p.m. with
Benediction following at
7 p.m.
Christian Science Society
(Gorton Center, 400 E. Illinois Road,
Lake Forest)
Bible Blast
5-6 p.m. Sunday evenings.
Bible Blast is a family
program for children
4 years old through fifth
grade. Guide your child’s
spiritual growth and biblical
literacy to a new level
through Bible Blast.
Submit information for
The Leader’s Faith page to
alyssa@lakeforestleader.
com. The deadline is noon on
Thursday. Questions? Call
(847) 272-4565 ext. 21.
IN MEMORIAM
Gronau remembered for service to Lake Bluff
Alan P. Henry
Freelance Reporter
Mr. Lake Bluff.
The Mayor of Scranton
Avenue. Big Red.
Kurt Gronau was
all of those and more
— a big personality
with a kind heart, a Gronau
can-do attitude, and a
lights out golf gamer who poured
his all into his community, his
church and the family he loved.
Gronau died May 28, at age
82. Nearly 300 friends and family
gathered to celebrate his life
and return some of that affection
Saturday, June 8, at First Presbyterian
Church in Lake Forest. Gronau
was a 42-year member of the
church and he served as a Deacon
and volunteer through PADS of
Lake County.
“Kurt felt blessed to be a part of
the Lake Bluff community,” said
Rev. Kristie Finley, remarking that
in every aspect of his life, Gronau
was a loving and welcoming
person.
Gronau was born in Northbrook
in the teeth of the Depression
and learned independence
early on. When he was eight, his
father handed him a fishing pole
and stuck a tag with his name
and destination on his shirt, then
put him on a train to Milwaukee.
After switching to another train,
he’d meet up for a visit with his
grandparents.
Gronau attended a one room
schoolhouse in Northbrook
through eighth grade. In 1955,
he was in the second graduating
class of Glenbrook High School.
After graduating from Bradley
University he served in the Army
Reserves.
Embarking on a career in insurance,
he lived and worked in
Los Angeles, San Francisco and
New York City. In 1977, he returned
to the North Shore, where
he started his own insurance business
and became actively involved
in the Lake Bluff/Lake Forest
communities.
For the past 18 years, Gronau
has stood alongside his wife, Peg,
as owners of Peg Ann Kompany in
downtown Lake Bluff.
“Each time you walked into the
store you were greeted as if you
were family,” said Rev. Finley.
“Both Peg and Kurt were right
there. I always felt like I was their
most valued costumer.’’
Gronau loved working at the
store, said his daughter Gretchen
Gronau Wooldridge.
“It was right in the center of
town where he could keep an eye
on everything and everyone.”
Gronau was a long time member
of the Lions Club and the Lake
Forest/Lake Bluff Chamber of
Commerce.
Spurred on by his love of Lake
Bluff and the game of golf, he
joined the Lake Bluff Park District
Board of Commissioners in 1997
and served a record 20 years.
During his tenure, he helped push
through the first renovation of the
golf clubhouse, construction of
the Recreation Center, beach improvements,
driving range, irrigation
system, reconstruction of the
tot pool and more.
Gronau’s devotion to the game
of golf was addressed by many
speakers. Some weeks he would
play as many as ten courses. In
2018, he shot his second hole-inone.
Most impressively, he shot
his age four times between the
ages of 74 and 79, a feat very rare
in golf.
Longtime friend and golfing
buddy Peter Capps recounted their
last round together, at the exclusive
San Francisco Golf Club.
“We were walking down the
18th fairway arm in arm and saying
it doesn’t get any better than
this.”
Another close friend and fellow
golfer Greg Knoke read aloud
some of their phone text messages,
including the last one on May 1.
“That was a special day in my
life,” Knoke told the memorial
service attendees. “That was the
last day I got to smoke a cigar with
Kurt.”
Gronau’s love for Lake Bluff
was particularly evident every
July 4th, when he would be busy
making bloody Mary’s and hosting
hundreds friends and neighbors
as they enjoyed the parade.
“He took so much pride in being
on the parade route,” said
his daughter Melanie Specketer
Walsh.
By all accounts, Gronau lived
life to the fullest, and that included
sailing, hunting, fishing, canoeing,
cooking, music, and flowers.
“He loved to go outside and
watch a good storm,” Gronau
Wooldridge said.
But as much as he loved all of
those, his four children, eleven
grandchildren and wife came first.
“My dad was so proud of all
four of his kids and lived vicariously
through each of us,” said
Gronau Wooldridge. During their
school years, “he was the biggest
fan at every event,” she said.
Daughter Jacki Gronau Michael
recited some of the life lessons her
father imparted.
“Be nice to everyone,” “have ‘a
guy’ for everything,” and “live life
to the fullest.”
“He pretty much had a smile
on his face all the time,” she said.
“And at the end of every phone
call he said ‘I love you.’”
Then there was Peg, his wife of
36 years.
“He just loved her so much,”
said close friend Dave Nash. He
told the story of how Gronau had
recently turned to his wife and said,
“I love you even more today than I
did yesterday.”
Kurt Gronau is survived by his
wife, Peg (Coleman), four children,
and eleven grandchildren:
Gretchen (Michael) Wooldridge
(Merritt and Calvin) of Morton
Grove, IL, Jacki (Timothy) Michael
(Harley and Sloan) of Lake
Bluff, Rodd (Sarah) Specketer
(Sadie, James, Miles, Elizabeth,
and Wells) of Lake Bluff, and
Melanie (Sean) Walsh (Molly and
Jack) of Lake Forest, his two sisters,
Carol (Harvey) Applegate of
Omaha, NE, and Judy Duszak of
Libertyville, IL, and nieces Michelle
Blanchard, Kim Bezek, and
nephew, Chris Duszak. He was
preceded in death by his parents.
James Simmen
James Mortimer
Simmen, of Lake
Forest, formerly of
Gurnee, died on May 4, with family
by his side. He was born Aug.
24, 1927 in Jersey
City, New Jersey, to
George and Maree
(Rankin) Simmen. He
served as a sargeant in
the U.S. Army from
1944 to 1952 and was
stationed in occupied
Simmen
Japan. He studied mechanical and
electrical engineering at Cornell
University, received his Bachelor
of Arts from the Medill School of
Journalism at Northwestern University,
and did graduate work under
Mies van der Rohe at Illinois
Institute of Technology.
He founded Photo Image Company,
the first photo-typesetting
firm in Chicago, in 1962. He was
an avid woodworker and craftsman,
a talented musician and
chef, and an active member of the
First Presbyterian Church of Lake
Forest.
Simmen was the husband of Marjorie
(Swansen) Simmen, whom he
married in 2013. Previously he was
married to Betty (Freeman) Simmen
for 58 years until her passing
in 2009. He was the loving
father of Robin Simmen (Michael
Conway), Sheryl Simmen (Dan
Ryan), Kimberly Wolf (Chris),
Russell Swansen (Susan), and Eric
Swansen (Shelley); grandfather
of Alexandra Leuenberger (Dan),
Austin, Morgan Shannon (Erik),
Sheridan, Maggie, and Russell;
great-grandfather of Theodor; preceded
in death by his parents and
son-in-law, Michael.
Have someone’s life you’d like to
honor? Email alyssa@lakeforestleader.com
with information about
a loved one who was part of the Lake
Forest/Lake Bluff communities.