Obituary of Corinne Anderson Grosenick

Born December 17, 1935

Death January 27, 2023

 

A loving wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, supportive friend and creative soul 

    Corinne was born the middle child of Leonard and Coris Anderson of Cicero, Illinois with the original name of Lucille Correne Virginia Anderson.  With a quick and inquisitive mind, she graduated from Reavis High School in Burbank, Illinois in 1952.  Always a hard worker, one of her first jobs was at a Cracker Jack factory inserting the prizes into the boxes. As a young adult, she worked for numerous political campaigns and went door-to-door taking straw polls. 

    With a voracious appetite for words and love of originality, she was a good match for Rev. Conrad W. Grosenick - marrying him on April 13, 1957 at Wartburg College in Dubuque, Iowa where they met. Together they would serve 47 years in ELCA parishes in Central Illinois, Chicago, and two congregations in Indiana. One of Corinne's proudest achievements was graduating with a BA in Journalism from St. Mary-of-the-Woods College in Terre Haute Indiana. She earned the degree remotely in 1979 while living in Ft. Wayne and continuing to help manage a household of Conrad and 3 school-aged children. When the family moved to Evansville in 1981, she served as Executive Director of the Mental Health Association, later in Public Relations for the Evansville Civic Theatre, and then ECHO Health Center. 

        Corinne was a strong supporter of women's rights and a breast cancer survivor. She had amazing fortitude believing one should "always ask for what you want"  - frequently saying "Who cares what they think? You'll never see them again!" Nowhere was this independence more evident than the bold move she and Conrad made painting the parsonage in Chicago a deep cherry red in the late 1960's - much to the chagrin of the neighbors. The ruckus that caused actually triggered a mention in a Mike Royko column in the Chicago Tribune - her favorite paper.    

Conrad and Corinne retired to Oregon in 1999 joining Conrad's sister Judith in Eugene. While there, Corinne worked at the Willamalane Adult Activity Center as Day Trip Planner. Later she volunteered for the Literacy Center as lead of the Woman’s Discussion Group at Willamalane and served as volunteer Coordinator for Jacobs Gallery in the Hult Center. She spent her sunset years making as many trips to her beloved Oregon coast and entertaining family and friends who loved to visit. She was passionate about planning family birthdays and vacations

    Corinne was fiercely proud of her heritage, attending many Swedish fests and visiting the country in 2000 to meet relatives. She famously had a refrigerator magnet declaring that we would all be "lutefisk eaters" one day.   

     She was also a multi-medium artist and photographer and spent her life reading and "writing her memoir". Corinne left behind a voluminous cashe of short stories about everyday experiences and interactions that come alive on paper with her insight and sharp-witted writing and commentary. She finished her life in assisted living in Happy Valley Oregon. Her cause of death was Parkinson's/Lewy Body Dementia. Ultimately, Corinne was a beautiful person who gave all she could to every task she undertook and every person she came to know.

     Those left behind to mourn are: sister Joyce B. Colucci of Aiken, SC, son Kip Christian of Atlanta, daughter Katharine Corinne of Golden, Colorado, son Kendall Conrad of Portland Oregon. Nine grandchildren including Brooke (Grosenick) Demorest, Spencer Grosenick, Lauren and Aaron Eads, Phoebe Conrad, Timothy and Thomas Topper, plus great grandchildren Declan and Rigby Demorest. They will dearly miss their departed grandmother known affectionately as Grandma Cookie and Gumbo.

 

A Celebration of Life is planned with immediate family in their hometown of Chicago in the spring. Please email Kitty with questions at katt0906@gmail.com.