Walter C. Gritzner, age
83 of Plainfield, Iowa died Saturday morning March 1,
2008, in Evergreen Terrace at Bartels Lutheran Retirement
Community in Waverly.
Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m.
Tuesday March 4, 2008, at the First Baptist Church in
Plainfield with Pastor Shawn Geer officiating. Ella
Severs, Laura Severs, Aaron Severs, Kelly Severs and Alina
Severs will provide special music.
Burial will be in Willow Lawn Cemetery
in Plainfield with Military Rites by American Legion Post
# 472 of Plainfield. Monty Gritzner, Aaron Severs, Travis
Smith, Ryan Smith, Nathan Gritzner, Mitchell Gritzner,
Adam Gritzner and Mario Gritzner will serve as their
grandfather’s pallbearers.
Visitation will be from 4 p.m. to 7
p.m. Monday at the Hugeback & Chenoweth Funeral Home
in Nashua and one hour prior to services at the church on
Tuesday. Memorials may be directed to the family.
Walter Charles Gritzner was born
February 1, 1925, on the family farm near Plainfield, the
son of Charles A. and Hazle N. (Jones) Gritzner. Walt
attended elementary school in Plainfield and graduated
from Plainfield High School in 1942. He played all sports
in high school and later played baseball on the Plainfield
town team. Walt worked at the Plainfield lumber Yard and
farmed. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1945 and was
Honorably discharged on February 8, 1946.
Walt was united in marriage to Hazel
Christina Sullivan June10, 1946 at the First Baptist
Church in Plainfield. To this union six children were
born. They moved to the Janesville area for five years
before returning to Plainfield in 1955. They farmed west
of town briefly before moving to their farm just north of
Plainfield. They lived there until retiring and moving to
town in 1985.
He was a member of First Baptist Church
in Plainfield where he served as a Trustee and Deaconate.
Walt was also a member of the Plainfield American Legion.
He was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather and
always had a story to share.
Walt is survived by his wife of 61
years, Hazel; his six children, Delores (Doug) Severs of
Clarksville, Stanley (Diann) Gritzner of Plainfield,
Daniel (Diane) Gritzner of Batavia, IL, Peggy (Joel) Smith
of Janesville, Randal (Elvia) Gritzner of Sebastian, TX
and Rhonda (Gregg) Johnstone of Alta Loma, CA; 18
grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his
parents, two brothers, William and Leland Gritzner; one
sister, Beverly Hobben.
