Lorene Groves, 90, Greenville
Lorene Groves, 90, of Greenville, died on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009, at Greenville Regional Hospital in Greenville.
Services were held at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Free Methodist Church in Greenville. Burial was in McInturff Cemetery in Hagarstown. Visitation was held from 4-8 p.m. on Friday at Donnell-Wiegand Funeral Home in Greenville. Memorials: Greenville Free Methodist Church Building Fund or Durley Camp.
Mrs. Groves was born on Jan. 30, 1919, in Vandalia, the daughter of the Rev. C.H. and Fadra Coates. She married Wayne D. Groves on Sept. 2, 1940; he died in 2001.
She was the third of seven children, and because her father was a long-time minister in the Free Methodist Church, they lived in several cities in Illinois, in St. Louis and in the state of Washington. She graduated from Decatur High School in 1936 and attended Greenville College with the class of 1940. She married after one year of teaching in Mulberry Grove. After the last of her seven children went to school, she returned to teaching part-time. She taught in Alton and, after the family moved to Greenville in 1969, in Bond County schools.
She was an active member of the Free Methodist Church in Alton and Greenville, serving as a Sunday school teacher, superintendent, director of Christian education, delegate to the WMS annual conference and in various other offices at the local, district and conference levels. She was a member of the Bond County Retired Teachers’ Association.
She is survived by children, Pat and her husband Jim Neumann of Alton, Jean and her husband Jim Marshall of Arlington, Texas, Darrell Groves and his wife Kari of Des Peres, Mo., Mike Groves of Greenville, Beverly and her husband Mark Cartwright of Rushville, Brenda Groves of Altamont, and Greg Groves and his wife Sue of Greenville; grandchildren, Jim and Tiffany (Nappier) Neumann, Pam (Kelly), Doug and Debi (Markides) Marshall, Melissa (Davitt), Rebecca, Matthew, Jason and Joseph Groves; Allison and Christina Cartwright, Rebekah (Lyles) and Theresa Miller, William and Krystal (Ray) Schrage, and Stephen, Hannah, Sarah and Silas Groves; 24 great-grandchildren; brothers, the Rev. Herb Coates of Greenville and Bob Coates of Florida; sisters, Norma Schien of Carlinville and Phoebe Delamarter of Louisville, Ky.; and sister-in-law, Irene and her husband Groves Frank of Greenville.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; brother, Merlin Coates; sister, Roberta Young; and 10-year-old grandson, Aaron Miller.