Ed Gruhot

EDWIN FRANK GRUHOT was born to Max Gruhot and Lottie Przymus on March 4, 1937 at Ghent, Minnesota. He was the sixth child in a family of seven children. He had a twin brother, Elmer. He attended country school followed by high school in Ivanhoe when the family moved to Marshall and he was a graduate of the class of 1954 from Marshall High. Coming from a large family, all of the five boys learned to work from an early age. They did farm work for local neighbors. During the summer of 1953 he went to work for a local contractor and met the boss’s daughter, Marjo Stanke, whom he later married in 1958. In 1959 they moved to Sioux Falls and their son, Jon, was born the week before Ed began working for Northwestern Bell Telephone. The family moved to Brandon in 1963 and increased with the birth of Juliann.

Ed was very active in the Brandon Community, working on the incorporation of Brandon as a city, participating in Lions Club, Cub Scoutmaster, Minnehaha Park Board, and various other projects. He served as mayor of Brandon for several years and promoted the acquisition of land which culminated in the large industrial park in Brandon. He was ordained a Permanent Deacon in the Catholic faith in 1991 and served in Risen Savior parish in Brandon until his retirement from the phone company in 1999. At that time he and Marjo moved to their lake home on Lake Benton, which was a home the family had built. He served as Administrator of St. Williams Parish in Aurora, South Dakota until 2014, when he retired from active diaconal ministry. In retirement, he continued to be very active in ministry. On Tuesday, February 14, 2017 Ed died at his Lake Benton home at the age of 79 years, 11 months, and 10 days.

Ed enjoyed spending time with his family, playing cards, yardwork and gardening, and visiting with anyone who wanted to visit. He was in the process, along with Jon, of restoring an old Studebaker pickup which was to have been his “parade car”.

Grateful for sharing his life are his wife, Marjo; son Jon (Diane) of Sioux Falls, SD; daughter Juliann (John) Gille of Elk Point, SD; granddaughters: Amanda (Chase) Williams of Rosemount, MN, Nicole (Jason) Killey of Stamford, CT, Lydia Gille and Ethan Eddy of Stevens Point, WI, and Danielle Gille of La Crosse, WI; great-grandson, Alexander Williams; great-granddaughter, Isabelle Williams; sisters, Maxine St. Aubin and Darlene Berndt; brother Donald (Dina) Gruhot; and many other nieces and nephews, family and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Max and Lottie; and three brothers, Elmer, Leonard, and David.