Remembering Carla "Aida" Gruber
March 26, 1929 ~ February 25, 2014 Carla "Aida" Gruber was born in Hamburg, Germany on March 26, 1929. Her parents were Joseph and Martha Lenz. Mom lived in Hamburg until she met Peter Gruber. She then came to Canada by herself across the ocean at the age of 23 to be with her future husband. They were married August 23, 1952 and had two children, Christel and Peter. They lived in Rolling Hills for three years on a strip mine. The job opportunity came for Dad to work in the mines in the Drumheller Valley so they moved and settled in East Coulee. In 1998 just before Dad passed away they moved to Drumheller. Once Mom lost her eye sight she moved to a facility in Hanna and after her stroke she moved to a facility in Innisfail where her daughter lives. Mom spent her final days there until she went to be with the Lord.
Mom was very active person, involved in so many things. She worked in the Drumheller High School cafeteria for a number of years until she retired in 1993 at the age of 64. She loved to cook and you could see her at many functions in the valley preparing and serving the meals. She looked after the Bingos in East Coulee,she joined the Royal Purple Ladies in Drumheller and became Honored Royal Lady. Once her term of Honored Royal Lady was completed she was still involved until 2012 when she lost her eye sight. Mom also curled and bowled for a few years until she found those activities too difficult to manage. She loved music and classical was probably her favorite. That probably stemmed from the fact that her father was a musician and violin maker as a sideline so she was introduced to music at a very young age. Mom spent her days before she lost her sight crocheting afghans, dish clothes and scarves and up until she lost her sight would sell up a table and sell her creations at the farmers market. After she lost her sight she continued to crochet dish clothes.
Mom is predeceased by; her father and mother Joseph and Martha Lenz, her brother Sigfried Lenz and her husband Peter Gruber. She is survived by; 4 siblings Toska Frietag, Carmen Johannson, Joseph Lenz and Heiko Lenz all of Germany. She is also survived by: her two children Christel McLeod (David) of Innisfail and Peter Gruber (Lorie) of Drumheller and 8 grandchildren : Christine Deminchuk (Kevin) of Red Deer, Matthew McLeod (Kristina) of Red Deer, Joshua McLeod (Kristin) of Calgary, Jonathan McLeod of Innisfail and Sarah McLeod of Sylvan Lake, Natasha Gruber (Steve) of Grande Prairie, Tyler Gruber of Regina, and Brandon Gruber of Drumheller and 1 great-granddaughter, Madison Deminchuk of Red Deer. She was also two months short of becoming a great-grandmother again.
A special thanks to all the nursing staff at the Hanna Continuing Care Facility and the Rosefield Continuing Care in Innisfail. We will miss her very much and even though she became blind she never lost her love for music and her sense of humor. Now she is dancing with the angels with her sight back.
In lieu of flowers donations may be made in honor of Aida to Heart & Stroke Foundation of Alberta & N.W.T. Room 124, Professional Building 430-6 Avenue S.E. Medicine Hat, Alberta T1A 2S8. Courtney-Winters Funeral Home entrusted with arrangements (403 823 2666).
A Memorial Service was held Monday, March 3, 2014 at 11:00 A.M. at Courtney-Winters Funeral Home 199-2nd Street West, Drumheller, Alberta with Jerry Beskowine L.W.L. officiating .
