Rev. Edwin A. Gruneich of Akron, Ohio, died peacefully on Dec. 6, 2009, at the age of 95.
Graveside services will be held on Sunday, October 3 at 4 p.m. at the McClusky City Cemetery. Friends may call at Hertz Funeral Home on Sunday October 3 from 3 p.m. until the family leaves for the cemetery.

He was born on Nov. 10, 1914, on the family farm southwest of Kulm, North Dakota, to Gottfried Gruneich and Christina Geiszler. They were descendants of Germans who had lived in Russia for several generations before immigrating to the United States in the late 1880s. He was the oldest child. Three sisters were born in following years.

He grew up on the farm and at a young age, became an expert in the automotive, mechanical, and electrical machinery that was replacing horses and the pre-electrical energy systems of the day. He attended a one-room school house through the 8th grade. In order to get a high school education, he had to leave home. He attended the North Central Bible Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he paid his way by being a custodian for a church. After he received his high school diploma, he attended North Dakota State University and also Minot State College, where he earned a bachelor's degree. He received his degree in divinity from the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Naperville, Illinois, and went on to do graduate work at the University of Chicago.

For 41 years, from 1936 to 1977, he served as pastor in churches in six Midwestern states. In earlier years, the churches were in the EUB (Evangelical United Brethren) Church. In 1948, Rev. Gruneich transferred his credentials to the Presbyterian Church. Because of his wide interest in many areas of life, he also farmed in the 1950s, repaired televisions in the 1950s and 1960s, and taught high school German and mathematics during the 1960s and 1970s. From 1977 to 1981, he was executive director of Promise, Inc., a non-denominational philanthropic society based in Ames, Iowa.

In 1939, Rev. Gruneich married Aneta L. Schindler from McClusky, North Dakota, a public school teacher and deputy county treasurer. They had four children: Grant (1946), John (1948), Gene (1949), and Carolee (1956). Following retirement in 1981, they relocated to Belen, New Mexico. They moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in 1990. Aneta died in Sioux Falls in 2000. In 2005, Rev. Gruneich moved to Akron, Ohio.

Rev. Gruneich's hobbies included woodworking, electronics, traveling, camping, amateur radio, reading, and music. In later years, he and Aneta researched the history of Germans from Russia who immigrated to the United States. They compiled that work into several self-published books that include extensive Gruneich, Geiszler, and Schindler genealogies. These books are well-known and highly regarded within the Germans from Russia community, both in the United States and Germany.

Preceding Rev. Gruneich in death were his parents and two of his sisters: Leona Kramlich and Evelyn Rath. He is survived by his sister, Edna Saeger, who lives in Pierre, South Dakota, and his children: Grant (Mary) of O'Fallon, Illinois, John (Sandy) of Akron, Ohio, Gene (Mary Jo) of Bettendorf, Iowa, and Carolee Ketelaar (Dan) of McMurray, Pennsylvania. He has 12 grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.

A memorial service was held at the Rockynol Retirement Center in Akron, Ohio, on December 2009.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Ghost Ranch Conference Center (HC77 Box 11, Abiquiu, NM 87510) or McClusky Memorial Cemetery Fund (McClusky, ND 58463). More information is available at www.gruneich.com and condolences can be left there.