Betty Maxine Gronendyke, 84, of West Lafayette, passed away Sunday, September 30, 2012, at St. Elizabeth Central in Lafayette surrounded by her loving family.
She was born March 31, 1928 in Anderson to the late Farris “Bud” and Dora “May” Humphrey Spall. She excelled at Anderson High School before going on to obtain a Bachelor?s degree from Ball State Teachers College at 20 years old. She worked as a teacher for several years before starting her family with Paul M. Gronendyke, whom she married in Anderson on June 19, 1949. Together they raised six children. Betty loved spending time with her husband and their family. Her children share wonderful memories of family vacations and gathering for special occasions. After the kids were grown, Betty and Paul enjoyed travels to Hawaii, Alaska, Europe and other memorable destinations. She had been to all fifty states. Betty was an avid reader, sports fan and had an insatiable curiosity about the world. She made many life-long friendships while living in Indiana, Illinois, Massachusetts and Florida.
Surviving along with her husband is a daughter, Nancy K. (husband: Benny E.) Harris, of Lafayette; five sons, John P. (wife: Nancy L.) Gronendyke, of Fishers, Mark A. (wife: Karen B.) Gronendyke, of Braintree, Mass., Steven T. (wife: Susan L.) Gronendyke, of Tolland, Conn., James M. (wife: Elizabeth S. Edgerly) Gronendyke, of San Jose, Calif. and David R. (wife: Maureen Toal) Gronendyke, of Newport Coast, Calif.; 11 grandchildren, Jessica and James Harris, Amy, Sheri, Katie, Dylan, Justin, Paul, Nicholas, Lindsey and Adam Gronendyke; her niece, Debbie L. Spall, of Fishers; and sisters-in-law, Charlene Spall, of Anderson and Jean Gronendyke, of Auburn.
She was preceded in death by her brother, Ronald L. Spall.
In memory, one of her grandchildren said, “Thank you for showing me what it means to be a strong woman and for raising such a great, accomplished family. You will be incredibly missed.”
Cremation will take place with a memorial service to be held at a later date. Memorial donations may be made to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (www.aarda.org).