Alice Grandy, 89
Alice Grandy, age 89 of Nashua, died Friday, Dec, 4, 2020, at her home.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020, at St. John Lutheran Church in Nashua, with the Rev. Norm Bauer officiating.
For those unable to attend, you are invited to please join the family on Facebook Live at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020, on the Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home Facebook page. For those attending in person, it is strongly recommended to practice social distancing and wear face masks to both the funeral and visitation.
Interment will be held in Oak Hill Cemetery, Nashua with Stuart Jacobs, Trent Jacobs, Lane Jacobs, Lantz Terrill, Brian Runge, and Scott Schmidt serving as pallbearers.
Friends may greet the family from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020, at the church prior to the funeral service.
Alice Grandy’s remarkable life began on July 28, 1931, when she was born to Richard and Malinda (Ellermann) Littauer in rural Butler County.
Alice grew up on a farm, attended country school through the eighth grade and then transferred to Plainfield High School, where she was a member of the Class of 1949. More importantly, it was there that she met Richard Grandy, and the two made for a great couple.
While Richard was on leave from the U.S. Navy, he returned home and exchanged wedding vows with Alice at the Little Brown Church on Aug. 24, 1951. Alice joined her husband in California in 1952, and they remained on the West Coast after Richard was honorably discharged. During this time Alice worked as a comptometer operator.
In 1959, however, the couple was needed on Alice’s family farm after her father became ill, and they returned to Iowa, where they farmed together for years. Alice was a true partner on the farm, and that also allowed Richard to work for the U.S. Postal Service.
Alice was one of those people who never wasted a minute. She was, as Richard will tell you, a “jack of all trades, not necessarily master of all.” In addition to working on the farm, she was known as the “Tupperware and nut Lady”, and she was the longtime registrar for the Bloodmobile. She was a mainstay as the supervisor in the Big Four Fair’s Flower Building for years
She was, to put it mildly, a people person. Alice loved to socialize with her family and friends. She had the gift of gab, but she also was a wonderful listener who served as a “counselor” to many.
Alice and Richard didn’t have any children of their own, but Alice was a “great aunt” long before her first grand-niece and first grand-nephew were born. She and Richard attended countless ballgames, concerts and programs, and those nieces, nephews and greats and one great-great nephew, knew they had the best aunt in the world.
She had many interests, emphasis on many. She loved to try new recipes from her vast cookbooks collection, watching birds and wildlife, wildflowers, sitting by a campfire, rock hunting, fishing, animals, attending family gatherings, working on crossword puzzles and writing poems. She was one of a kind — a cook, a vet, a counselor, a mechanic and a lifelong volunteer.
For more than 50 years, Alice and Rich went with friends who shared the same anniversary date, to any new restaurant they had never been to before, taking them all throughout Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Alice also would do anything for her church, and for years, she was part of the St. John Lutheran Church’s quilting group. She was also a member of the VFW Auxiliary, American Legion, and the Bradford Homemakers.
In short, Alice packed a lot of life into her 89 years on earth. She and Richard were married for more than 69 years, and she touched the lives of so many people — her nieces, her nephews, her “greats,” her friends, her community and her church — that it’s difficult to imagine life without Alice Grandy.
But she is home with Jesus now, and we’re pretty sure that God decided he needed someone to spice up the socialization in Heaven so he picked the best.
Alice is survived by her husband of 69 years, Richard Grandy of Nashua; two brothers-in-law, Al (Arlyce) Schroeder of Denver, and Merrill Jacobs of Waukon; nieces and nephews, Joan (Scott) Schmidt of Waukon, Stuart (Theresa) Jacobs of Waukon, Trent (Lori) Jacobs of Waukon, Lane (Abby) Jacobs of McGregor, Hope (Brian) Runge of Cedar Rapids, Angie Schroeder of Denver, Andy (Leaann) Schroeder of Seymour, Indiana, and Amy (Lantz) Terrill of Cedar Falls; and 17 grand-nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; brother-in-law, Milton Grandy; and sister-in-law, Marlys Jacobs.
