Adeline Grau

Adeline Grau, 86, of St. Joseph passed away July 22, 2014 at The Willows Assisted Living in St. Joseph after a long ordeal with Alzheimer’s disease.  The lingering goodbye is finally over and she has joyously entered the gates of heaven. Visitation will be at Starks & Menchinger Chapel 2650 Niles Ave. St. Joseph on Saturday from 11:00 to 1:00. Adeline’s funeral service will be held on Monday, July 28 at 10:30 AM at Trinity Lutheran Church with Pastor Batsky officiating.  Following a luncheon in the church fellowship room, burial will take place at Riverview Cemetery. Adeline was born March 4, 1928 to Gustav and Tillie (Riemland) Neubauer.  She was baptized, attended grade school, and was married at Trinity Lutheran Church in St. Joseph, where her funeral service will now also take place.  The church and the Lord Jesus remained a very big part of her life.  Adeline is survived by her husband Dick, whom she married 63 years ago on November 11, 1950, and their children: Michael Grau of Dallas, Texas; Peggy (Robert) Angeli of Holland, Michigan; Carol (Michael) Harrison of Charlotte, North Carolina; and Rhonda (Jeffery) Barchett of Benton Harbor.  She is also survived her brother Irving (Lillian) Neubauer, her 12 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her parents and stepmother Olga (Karger) Neubauer. Adeline began her career as a St. Joseph high school co-op student during the war years 1944 and 1945 in the accounting department at Whirlpool, where she met her future husband.  Following graduation she became a full-time employee and rose to become an executive secretary at Whirlpool’s “yellow building” in St. Joseph.  Later, Adeline worked as a cashier at Goldbladt’s Department Store in the Fairplain Plaza, owned and operated the Tastee-Freez on Niles Avenue in St. Joseph for 3 years, and she worked as a teller at the Farmers and Merchants National Bank in Benton Harbor for 16 years.  In addition, Adeline served as a Lakeland Hospital volunteer for 15 years and had been a member of Trinity’s Ladies Aid since 1952. Adeline was the true definition of wife, mom and Grandma, and will be immensely missed by her family.  She loved her family and we each knew it.  She was a good friend on whom you could always depend.  She had a great sense of humor to the very end.  She and Dick loved to travel which was highlighted by frequent visits to their children around the country, an 11,000 mile trip to Alaska in 2001, and a trip to Egypt and Israel in 1996.  She enjoyed her home, watching Lake Michigan sunsets from the bluff, listening to the St. Joseph Municipal Band concerts, and the endless car rides with her husband Dick. Adeline and her family are very grateful to Tina Proctor and all of the caregivers at The Willows, Phyllis Karl, and Hospice at Home, including nurses Rischell and Lateka, for their attentive services. We kindly request that instead of flowers please consider donating to the Ladies Aid of Trinity Church, Hospice at Home or the Music Department of Grace Christian School in Watervliet. Those wishing to sign Adeline’s guestbook may do so online at www.starks-menchinger.com.