Irene Gruber

Irene E. Gruber, 94, of Pierz, MN, passed away on April 9, 2026, at Quiet Oaks the Hospice house of St. Cloud, MN.

Irene E. Gruber, 94, of Pierz, MN, passed away on April 9, 2026, at Quiet Oaks the Hospice house of St. Cloud, MN.

Irene was born on December 7, 1931, to Arnold and Ester (Winterlin) Lemke in the Farming township of MN, a part of Albany MN. She was a member of the Farming Lutheran Church while attending school in Albany, MN, after she completed her education, she moved to St. Cloud and worked at first in the toy department of the Five & Dime and then transferred to a position that she truly enjoyed which was working the lunch counter at Woolworth's Department Store, she liked having her uniform and enjoyed all the people she waited on.

Irene enjoyed restaurant work and would have liked to have owned one of her own. But at a wedding dance she met her future spouse Donald (Don) Gruber, the Band Leader of Don's Accordion Band. So, on June 17, 1953, she married Don Gruber, of Pierz, MN, and together they began farming his family farm in the Buckman area. Farming at that time was hard, so to help make ends meet, Irene worked at the Star Cafe, in Pierz, as well as the Royalton Dairy Queen, and occasionally cocktailed for her bother-in-law at his bar in Genola MN.

Irene always had a few choice words for her spouse but her overall motto or as she always said to Don, “we have to stick together” so together they farmed and were recognized for achieving the honor of having a Centennial Farm. Irene dedicated her stamina and ingenuity to be an integral part of Don's Quality Eggs, as well as her garden, canning, berry picking, fishing, and traveling wherever Don wanted to go. She also embroidered, quilted, and crocheted but her most favorite hobby was weaving carpets from old clothes that she turned into Rag Rugs. Her most cherished place, the one she loved the most, was her winter home in Sebring FL, they wintered there for many years among their friends who remain her friends today.

She is survived by her children, Paulette Leduc of Chaska, MN, Shirley Gruber-Kelsey of Anchorage, AK and Rose Ann Vannurden (Allen) of Rice, MN; four grandchildren, and 12 great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Donald; her parents; and her brothers, Arnold Lemke Jr, and Alvin Lemke (Darlene), sister Alice (Palmer) Everson, and numerous nieces and nephews.

A graveside service, with date to be announced, will be held at the Union Cemetery, a fitting end for her as she will be interned with Don at the cemetery that is attached to the family farm where they both gave it their all to keep.

Arrangements are entrusted to Brenny Family Funeral Chapel in Baxter.