Lu Ann Gruber

Lu Ann Gruber was a wife, mother and grandmother from Manitowoc, Wisconsin, remembered by her family and community for the quiet, steady care she gave to the people around her. She was born on December 26, 1941, in Manitowoc, the daughter of Quirn and Elanor (Kocian) Wachal, and she lived nearly all of her life in the Manitowoc area.

On November 21, 1959, in Elcho, Wisconsin, she married Norbert Gruber. Together they raised three children, James Gruber of Francis Creek, Linda Witczak of the Town of Kossuth, and Richard Gruber, also of the Town of Kossuth, and Lu Ann took particular pride in that work, devoting herself to her family's daily life for decades. Norbert died on May 15, 2025, a little over a year before her.

Lu Ann was not a public figure in the way of celebrities or politicians, and she did not hold a title or a career that made headlines. Her significance was local and personal. Friends and family remember her as an avid fan of the Green Bay Packers, someone who enjoyed group bus trips, and a woman who found real pleasure in cooking and baking for the people she loved. She also looked after many neighborhood children over the years, and by all accounts she took genuine joy in watching those children grow up and start families of their own, a role that made her a familiar and trusted presence well beyond her own household.

Lu Ann died on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, in Manitowoc, at the age of 84. Her death was announced through an obituary placed by Reinbold and Pfeffer Family Funeral Services of Kellnersville, Wisconsin, which serves the Manitowoc area. No cause of death has been made public, and the family has not offered further detail on the circumstances.

She was preceded in death not only by her husband Norbert but also by her parents, her brother Wayne Wachal and his wife Audrey, and an infant brother, Jerry Wachal. She is survived by her three children, three grandchildren, Kayla Witczak, Dillion Witczak and Tyler Gruber, and by the wider circle of family and neighbors who knew her. A funeral service is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 3, 2026, at Reinbold and Pfeffer Funeral Home in Kellnersville, with visitation beginning at 10:00 a.m. the same day. She will be laid to rest at St. Anne Catholic Cemetery in Francis Creek, Wisconsin.