Obituary of Jean Gryc

Jean Gryc, a resident of Spring Valley Assisted Living in Springfield, Oregon, died on September 22, 2019, five weeks after a joyful celebration of her ninety-ninth birthday with her five children and their spouses. She was born Eugenie Louise Funk on August 15, 1920 in St. Paul, Minnesota to Raymond and Emma Funk as the eldest of five children. She had an idyllic childhood in the small town of Carver, Minnesota where she and her friends played together as the River Pirates. The stresses of the Great Depression caused her parents and three siblings to move to San Diego, California while Jean remained in Minnesota to live with her mother’s sister and husband (Elsa and Worth Read) in St. Paul. Jean attended the University of Minnesota where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in social work (1942). At the university she met George Gryc who earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (1940) and a Master of Science degree in geology (1942). Jean and George wed in 1942 and spent 66 years together until George’s death in 2008. Jean and George lived in an apartment in Washington, D. C. until they bought a home in nearby University Park, Maryland in 1951. By 1957 the family had grown to include five children. In 1963 the family moved to Sunnyvale, California when George became Chief of the Alaskan Branch of the USGS whose main office is in Menlo Park, California. George spent his entire professional career of 52 years working for the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Jean and George were avid bridge players and enjoyed spending summer vacations with family at their lakeside cabin in Hackensack, Minnesota. Jean was active in the American Association of University Women and the Sunnyvale Community Services Auxiliary where she continued to volunteer into her nineties. After George’s death, Jean welcomed her grandson Skylar Suorez and his wife Joa into her Sunnyvale home. The presence of the younger generation enabled Jean to remain at her home until 2017 when she moved to an assisted-living residence near Eugene, Oregon to be close to her eldest daughter, Christina Gryc. At Spring Valley Assisted Living she quickly made new friends among the residents and the loving and skilled staff. Her apartment was filled with photos, paintings, and objects from her life, and she had frequent visits with family members who came from all parts of the country to see her. Jean is survived by her sister Cecile Leavell of Anaheim, California, and her five children: James Gryc of Faribault, Minnesota; Stephen Gryc of Farmington, Connecticut; Christina Gryc of Eugene, Oregon; Paula Suorez of Cambria, California; and Georgina Park of Graham, Washington. In addition Jean leaves thirteen grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.