David & Lillian Grochowski

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After sharing a lifetime together, David Joseph Grochowski and Lillian Saynay Grochowski left this world together, Lillian in the early hours of Sunday, January 28, 2024, and David in the afternoon of Monday, January 29, 2024.   Lillian was the fifth of eleven children and David was sixth of six children.  

Dave and Lil met in 1956 at a dance at Cathro Hall.  Lillian was in town with her girlfriends from Detroit, and Dave, who never danced a step in his life, went with his cousin Al Kline.  Lillian and Dave hit it off, dated briefly, and were married in Detroit on October 14, 1957, whereupon Lillian left her city life behind for Northern Michigan.

The apartment above Tony and Chet’s Market in Alpena was their first home.  Within a few years they moved to the house that Dave built, where they lived the rest of their lives.  They had five children in the space of seven years, and taught their children the virtues of good manners, high grades, good dental hygiene, tithing, board games and card games, and having a project going at all times.  

Dave and Lil were opposites in many ways.  Dave was super organized, and Lil was always the last one out of the house because she couldn’t find her purse.  If you’d like to know what kind of gas mileage the 1960s Chevy got, let us know specifically which week of which year you’re interested in and we’ll find Dave’s records and get that to you right away.  If you want Lillian’s chop suey recipe, it may take a while to sort through the random files and loose pages strewn about the cabinet above the fridge.  But apparently it worked for Lillian and Dave – they were married for 66 years.

After completing military service, Dave went to work at Huron Portland Cement in 1953 and worked there until retirement in 1992. Having worked for General Motors for seven years before marriage, Lillian reentered the workforce after raising her children, working at Wickes Lumber from 1978 until retirement in 1993. David and Lillian were lifelong volunteers – Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, the kids’ schools, their church, the hospital – and worked elections at polling places for the opportunity to visit with friends and neighbors.  They enjoyed many a road trip and traveled to 49 states together.  Their collection of road maps, routes traced in black marker, is stashed away in a closet.  They made many trips to the U.P. and Northern Michigan, and when overnight trips got harder for them, they were known to drive a 60-mile detour from home to the Alpena Post Office.  They frequently picnicked in their car at the boat harbor, scanning the lake for freighters, and they watched the Fourth of July fireworks over Mich-E-Ke-Wis Park from the same parking spot every year.  

Family was important to Lillian and Dave.  Many Sunday afternoons were spent playing pinochle at a relative’s dining table.  They attended every shower, wedding, funeral, reunion, and birthday and graduation party they were invited to.  Lil’s 90th birthday party last April was a highlight for them both, being celebrated by so many family and friends, and we are all grateful for that memory.

The last few months of their lives were challenging.  As verbal communication between them got harder you might have caught Lillian and Dave winking at each other, or Dave sitting quietly in a wheelchair beside Lillian’s bed.  They received great care from Hospice of Michigan and the kind staff at Touch of Country.  We hope that Dave and Lil’s many visitors and callers during this time know how grateful they were for your company.  You brightened their days.  

Dave and Lil / Mom and Dad / Grandpa and Grandma will surely be missed.

Dave and Lil are survived by their children and grandchildren — Jane; Kathy, Alex (Kate) Schultz, Justine (fiancé Jason Embrey) Schultz; Bill & Diane (Block); Paul & Beth (Snyder); and Jack & Basak (Anameric), Alaina, Adalie, Oliver, and Elmer Grochowski — as well as Lillian’s siblings Marg Rogers, Connie Saynay, Rosalie Spellecy, Bernie (Dick) Eschrich, Joe (Elaine) Saynay, and Larry (Rosary) Saynay, and many nieces and nephews.

David Grochowski – born at 215 Dawson Street, Alpena, Michigan

Born May 2, 1930 – Died January 29, 2024

Dave was preceded in death by his parents and siblings:

Parents – Anthony and Julia Grochowski

Siblings –

Ed 1918 – 2001, 

Tony 1919 – 2009 

Chet 1921 – 2015

Helen 1923 – 2006 

Gen 1925 – 2019 

Lillian Grochowski – born in Detroit, Michigan

Born April 21, 1933 – Died January 28, 2024

Lillian was preceded in death by her parents and four siblings: 

Parents – Joseph and Lucille Saynay

Siblings –

Mary 1927 – 2018

Charlotte 1927 – 1927 

Christine 1929 – 2021

Barbara 1936 – 2020

Family will receive friends for visitation at Karpus Hunter & Ross Funeral Home on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024. from 2pm until 6pm with a parish prayer service at 5pm. Visitation will continue on Monday Feb. 5, 2024, at St. Anne Catholic Church of All Saints Parish from 10am until the Mass of Christian Burial at 11am with Fr. Tyler Bischoff as celebrant. Interment will take place at Holy Cross Cemetery.

Should you wish to make a donation in Mom and Dad’s memory, please consider Hospice of Michigan, which is at Mom and Dad’s request. Online condolences may be registered at www.karpushuntercares.com