Viola Grounds: UPDATE

Viola E. Grounds, 92, of Hooker passed away Thursday June 20, 2011 at Southwest Medical Center in Liberal, Kansas.

Viola Ella Lundgrin was born on her family farm south of Hooker, December 23, 1918 to George and Mary Kathrine Herbel Lundgrin. Her parents immigrated to this area from a small village in Russia, as did many Hooker residents. She had three brothers, George, Alexander and Raynerd, and two sisters, Leona and Clara. She attended Buffalo School through eighth grade, then Secretary School in Wichita, Kansas.

She met Ralph Grounds on Hooker Main Street one Saturday night. They married when she was seventeen and he nineteen. It was a match made in heaven; for sixty-eight years, their love never wavered. They were blessed with a son, Ralph (Sonny), and daughters Gloria, Angela and Kathy. They spent their married life farming and ranching in this area.

Viola was an avid gardener most of her life and her roses were her pride and joy. Painting was also a favorite hobby and she enjoyed helping with prom decorating and sets for the Guymon Community Theater. She loved having her grandchildren over to make craft projects and it was something they will always treasure.

Being a member of Hagolu Ladies Club gave her many good friends and happy times to talk of over the years. Viola was a lifelong and very active member of St. Johns’ Lutheran Church in Hooker, Oklahoma. She taught Sunday school many years and was a charter member of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League. Her faith was strong and most important in her life. She loved her church family dearly and their support through the years brought her joy and sustained her. Being a true Christian, devoted wife and loving mother were her greatest goals.

Viola was preceded in death by her parents; two brothers, George and Raynerd; two sisters, Clara and Leona; her beloved husband Ralph and daughters, Gloria, Angela and Kathy.

She is survived by her brother, Alexander Lundgrin and his wife, Myra; her son, Sonny and his wife Linda; grandson Anthony and his wife, Jill, and their children, Craig and Jessie; granddaughter, Shanny, her children, Kasey Vanwey and Lyndi Gray, and her husband, J.R. and son, Berry; granddaughter, Jamie, her husband, Sean Mundy, and children, Cole, Molly and Cooper; granddaughter, Hally; son-in-law, Mick Stienkogler; granddaughter, Neilly, her husband, Scott Thomas, and children, Henry and Lucy; granddaughter, Shea, her husband, TeeJ Arnett and son Conlan; and many loving nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Hooker, Oklahoma with Rev. Thomas House officiating. Interment will be in the Hooker Cemetery directed by Roberts Brothers Funeral Home, Inc. in Hooker, Oklahoma.

Memorials are suggested to the St. John’s Lutheran Church and may be left at Roberts Brothers Funeral Home, Box 745, Hooker, Oklahoma, 73945.

Condolences may be left at robertsbrothersfuneralhome.com