OBITUARY: Ole T. Groe, 1859-1933, Worth County, Iowa



                              Ole T. Groe

Ole T. Groe died in a Mason City hospital on April 18, 1933 following two
major operations the past six weeks.  He had been active in the management
of the Lake Mills Creamery Co. and other local cooperatives.  A daughter,
Mrs. E.J. Wilcox, Springfield, Mass. and son, Roy, Wichita Falls, Kansas,
came to be withhim.

He was born May 5, 1912, 1859 in Silver Lake to Tosten O. Groe and Kari
Mellem Groe, the second white child born in that township.  He had to
quit school at ten years when his father became ill and he studied
at night.

He married Anna J. Simonson and they farmed 160 acres in Silver Lake.
He moved to Lake Mills and entered the teneral merchandise business
with Gilbert Nystuen, later selling out to work for Scar-Nelson and Sorbon
and worked for Ed Henderson.  He was assessor two years and on the school
board four years.  In 1893 he became president of the Winnebago and Worth
Creamery and in 1898 he reorganized it to become the Lake Mills Creamery
Co.  In 1897 he was elected secretary of the Lake Mills Lumber Co. which he
held for 36 years.  In 1908 he was instrumental in organized the Lake Mills
telephone co. and was an officer for 25 years.

Survivors are his wife and six children, T.O. Groe, Northwood; Gena Groe
Hickox, Springfield, MA; Clarence, Lake Mills; Josephine Thompson, Lake
Mills; Roy, Wichita, Kansas and Orin Groe, Lake Mills.

Funeral was held at Salem with burial in Silver Lake.  All the businesses
in Lake Mills were closed for the funeral.





Copyright (c) 2002 by Elaine Bergan
(Note: Not necessarily related to the subject of this obituary.)

This copy contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives.

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