Ladonn Kay Gruis

Adrian, MN

     LaDonn Gruis age 85, of Adrian, MN passed away on Thursday, January 5, 2023, at the Sanford Hospital in Worthington, MN.

     Visitation will be held Sunday, January 8th, from 2:00 - 5:00 p.m., with family present at the Jurrens Funeral Home in Sibley.

     Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m. Monday, January 9, 2023, at the First Baptist Church in Adrian, MN, with Pastor Bruce Branson officiating.  Burial will follow in the Worthington Memorial Gardens Cemetery rural Worthington, MN.

     LaDonn Kay Gruis was born on December 11, 1937, in Little Rock, IA, the daughter of Lucas K. and Helen (Lee) Kruse.  She grew up in Little Rock and later graduated from Little Rock High School in 1956.

     On March 8, 1957, she was united in marriage to Marvin Dale Gruis in George, IA.  To this union three children were born, Greg, Brad, and Lori.  The couple farmed their entire married life.  After thirty-one years of marriage Marvin passed away on June 30, 1988.

     LaDonn later married Stanley Robert Engelkes on February 1, 1997, in Adrian, MN and after twenty-one years of marriage Stan passed away on October 8, 2018.

     LaDonn worked several places throughout her life such as Campbells Soup from 1964 to 1966; Safeway from 1966 to 1968; from 1968 to 2000 she was a housekeeping supervisor at the Arnold Memorial Nursing Home and Hospital where she later retired from.  After her retirement, to stay busy, she was a receptionist for Southwest Hearing Technology in Worthington, MN.

     She was a member of the First Baptist Church in Adrian, where she was the church organist for 50 years.

     She loved to sing while she worked, and she was always singing or humming one of her favorite hymns.  She will be greatly missed.

     Left to cherish her memory are her four children, Greg (Coleen) Gruis of Rushmore, MN, Brad (Alice) Gruis of Baltic, SD, Lori Mejia of Adrian, MN, and Jan (Jeff Saul) Engelkes of Denver, CO; ten grandchildren and twenty great-grandchildren; sister, Leone (Tom) Stieneke of Aurelia, IA; sister-in-law, Lucille Gruis of Rushmore, MN; and other extended family.

     She was preceded in death by her parents, Lucas, and Helen Kruse; brother and sister-in-law, LeRoy (Karen) Kruse; husbands, Marvin Gruis and Stan Engelkes; and son-in-law, Francisco Mejia.