An Obit for my Dad, Max Grover

The world lost a good man...

I retired from full-time employment on January 5, 2024.

After lunch on Super Bowl Sunday, my wife and I were having a glass of wine and playing backgammon. I said how grateful I was that it had been a relatively stress-free first month of freedom—especially knowing that times wouldn’t always be so smooth.

Our world shifted a few hours later.

Sister Diane called to say Mom had fractured her hip, at home, while getting ready to go to Diane’s house to watch the game. She’s never had any pain, and with therapy she has recovered well. She still lives on the family farm. Sharp as a tack, she turns 92 on Mother’s Day.

Eight days later, Diane and I were keeping an eye on Dad at their place when he had a stroke.

I spent most of the past three months in northeast Iowa, helping Mom out and seeing Dad at an Independence care facility. Life slowly slipped away, and he passed away on April 18, 2024. Mom and Dad would have celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary a week later.

I did a lot of journaling during my time back home and will share more thoughts later.

In the meantime, here’s Dad’s obituary. I’ll follow this up soon with the Eulogy I delivered at his funeral.

MAX GROVER OBIT 

Max Dean Grover of Rowley, Iowa passed away in Independence on April 18, 2024. He was 88.

Max was born on November 17, 1935, in the Rowley farm home of his parents, John Devere and Martha Elizabeth (Basquin) Grover. As a boy, he developed a life-long appreciation of the outdoors, and enjoyed fishing for bass in Bear Creek and hunting rabbits with his dog, Chris. In later years, he spent hours enjoying the birds that flocked to his feeder. He was a self-taught student of the natural world and loved to share his knowledge.

After graduating in 1953 from Rowley High School, Max worked for two years in Cedar Rapids. He married Charlotte (also known as Chaad) Faith Raney on April 25, 1954 at the Presbyterian church in Livermore, Iowa. When he passed, they were one week short of celebrating their 70th anniversary.

Unable to get a better job due to his draft status, Max enlisted in the Army and served as a radio operator at Fort Sill, Oklahoma from 1955-57. After his discharge, he worked as a press operator for the Independence newpapers for two years.

Max was appointed as Rowley’s rural letter carrier in 1959, taking over the same route his father had served from 1919-58. Max retired in 1997 after hauling for 38 years. Max and Chaad were active members of the National Rural Letter Carriers Association, helping host their 1986 national convention in Des Moines. He was recognized for having driven over one-million accident-free miles on his mail route. 

Max and Chaad purchased a small farm that bordered his boyhood home west of Rowley in March, 1969. Max worked diligently to improve his property and loved watching his crops develop. 

An ardent conservationist, he served on the Buchanan County Conservation Board for 27 years.  Projects he helped develop include the Fontana Park Nature Center, Boies Bend, and the Rowley Fen. Max and his brother planted thousands of trees near the Wapsi river that eventually became Guy Grover Timber and Plantings county park. For several years, he also chaired the Rowley Trees Forever project. Max tended a walnut grove and several windbreaks on his farm, and he sold Christmas trees for a decade. 

Max was an active, life-long member of the Rowley United Methodist Church and served on many church committees. He also spent 63 years with the Holman Lodge #593 in Rowley. 

Born with a curious mind, his activities included many Canada fishing trips, family history, and photography. He’ll be remembered as a gentle and charitable man with an engaging wit and a fun sense of humor. He conversed with everyone, and never met a stranger. He lived his Christian values through his daily actions and his word was his bond. Max especially loved family gatherings and sharing outdoor wisdom with his grandkids.   

Max is survived by Charlotte, his wife of seventy years. Children include son Timothy (Debra) Grover of Pleasant Hill, IA; Anthony (Jean) Grover of Wildwood, MO; and daughter Diane Grover of Independence. Grandchildren include Emily (Jesse) Bainter, Abigail Grover, Matthew (Lauren) Grover; Tanya (Tyler Shepherd) Grover, Sophia (Eric Kremer) Grover; and Alicia (Logan) Janes. His legacy also includes great-grandchildern Isaac, Owen, and Vera Charlotte Bainter; Kellin Vogel; Teagan Dostanic; and Layton and Acelyn Janes. He is also survived by his sister, Ruby (the late Roger) Marks, and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; parents-in-law Guy and Mildred Raney; infant daughter Annette; and grand daughter Erin Wessels. Other family members include sister Gladys (Dwight) Corkery; brothers William, Guy (Shirley), James (Colleen), Leland (in infancy); and sister Ruth (Robert) Hansen. 

(Information for services was added by White Funeral Home in Independence).