Gloria N. Groomer

Gloria N. Groomer, 77, of Littleton. Beloved wife of Don. Devoted Mother of Patrish, Gale, Carol, Gretchen, Heidi. Grandmother of Jenny, Greg, Joan, Andy, Pete, Shauna, Ryan. Sister of Sandra, Millard, Dean. Rosary Thursday, 7:00 p.m., Horan & McConaty Family Chapel, 3101 So. Wadsworth Blvd. Funeral Mass Friday, 10:00 a.m., St. Mary's Catholic Church, 6853 So. Prince St. Memorials to Chateau des Mons Alzheimer's Assisted Living, Attn: Heidi Pederson, 3426 S. Marion St., Englewood, CO 80113 or the Alzheimer's Association, Rocky Mountain Chapter, 789 Sherman St., Suite 500, Denver, CO 80201. Please join our walk down memory lane as we reminisce about our dear Mom and devoted Wife, Gloria Groomer: Gloria, a blue-eyed, tow-headed baby was born on Nov. 2, 1928 to Estel (Haines) and Clarence Johnson. The sweet little girl lived with her parents in the tiny town of Hammer, So. Dakota. Three years later, brown-haired Sandy, Gloria's soon-to-be beloved sister and best friend, was born into the Norwegian clan. During the Great Depression, the family moved to Gloria's grandparent's home in Denver because Clarence, a saxophone and clarinet player with the John Phillips Sousa Band, was unable to find employment. Gloria attended school at many of the Denver area grade schools as the family moved from location to location. During this time, Clarence and Estel divorced. In fourth grade Gloria was sent to Laramie, Wyo. to live with her father, stepmother, and two stepbrothers, Millard and Dean. During this same time, Sandy was delivered to Peter Pan Boarding School in Denver to live. Two years later, Estel married Roy Nelson, and the two sisters were reunited with the family and lived in Lakewood, Co. Roy worked as a bookkeeper until he was drafted into the war. Estel worked in the evening as head of the usherettes and cashiers at the Paramount Theater. This left young Gloria and Sandy alone at night to fend for themselves. Occasionally, Gloria found herself frightened and would sit for hours at a time in a basket in a dark closet crying for her parents who never came to comfort her. Gloria and Sandy also used this time to explore and roam where ever they wanted. During this time, it was not unusual for the the girls to search through neighborhood trash cans to find their evening meals. Without parental supervision, Estel was fond of saying, "that spunky little girl of mine (Gloria) wouldn't ever go to school, but would remain swinging on the school's playground." Gloria remembered, "Mama told me to search through the school's lost and found box to see if we had any missing items. I took everything in the box home and never returned any of it." Still, this little survivor of a persevered abandonment and her parent's alcholism to become a beautiful blonde bombshell of a teenager and popular Lakewood High School cheerleader. She was later captain of the squad. Gloria recalls, "We didn't have any money during that time, so we would wear our sweaters frontwards one day and backwards the next for a 'different look.' Nobody thought this was strange since we were all poor and we all did it!" During her senior year, a handsome dark-haired, brown-eyed Irishman named James Michael Donelan III saw Gloria's photo in a college dormmate's room. Upon that first glance Jim stated, "That is the girl I'm going to marry!" Once Gloria met this determined young man, she said, "I wasn't interested in any other fellas, so I turned my thoughts to getting married, working, and starting a family." The attractive young couple were married on Oct. 1, 1950 in Roggen, Co. in a small wedding ceremony attended by family. The beautiful bride wore a brown suit and pretty pink hat. "I was very happy and proud to be married," remarked Gloria, "I kept admiring my beautiful diamond ring. It gave me a sense of belonging." The couple settled in Keensburg, Co. where Jim's parents, Hazel and James Michael Donelan Jr., also lived. Hazel befriended the perplexed young bride and taught her about about keeping a home, cooking, and loving her family. This was especially helpful to Gloria since her mother and stepfather relocated to Hawaii following her wedding ceremony. For the next five years, Jim worked as the store manager in his father's grocery store. Then the couple were blessed by their much wanted first child, a tiny five pound, brunette baby girl with bright, blue eyes named Patricia Ann. "I loved being a new mother to this shy little girl," Gloria cooed over her precious child, "I hadn't been around little children much, but Jim's mother taught me how to care for this adorable baby. I loved her as my own mother." Two and a half months later, Gloria learned that she had a second baby on the way. "I had to laugh and say, 'of course we are!' quipped Gloria. "We were good practicing Catholics, and you know . . . babies happen!" "Gale Lee was the biggest of my three babies weighing in at six and a half pounds," Gloria remarked. "This was my only brown-eye girl, and she came into the world with a ruddy complexion and long coal black hair! I brought spunky little Gale home on Patricia's first birthday. Timid Patty peeked through the crib at her sister, and walked for the first time that day." "Now I had two babies," said Gloria, "and I felt overwhelmed! When my third baby, Carol, came along . . .'Oh, boy!' Gale was about a year and a half when darling fair-haired, blue-eyed Carol Lynn was born weighing in at six pounds." "Little Carol was a very easy baby," said Gloria, "sleeping so much that I thought I had died and gone to heaven! Then, we discovered that she was anemic and had to give her iron. Sweet, quiet Carol snapped right out of her lethargy, and she has been a pistol ever since!" "While Carol was still in diapers," Gloria remembered, "I became pregnant with my fourth baby. I was five months along when I miscarried the baby girl who had died a month before in my womb. That was one of the saddest moments of my life, and it still makes me cry when I think about it." Following promotion after promotion in the grocery business, Jim moved his family to Brentwood, to Greeley, and to Sterling, Co. It was there that the family finally settled and the young Donelan girls attend elementary, secondary, and high school, plus junior college. Jim and Gloria's often turbulent marriage lasted 23 years. Upon their divorce in 1974, Gloria returned to her home town of Denver, and in 1975 and worked at the Mountain Bell Phone Company. A couple of years later while attending a Previously Married Seminar through the Catholic Church, Gloria met a very charming and handsome blue-eyed gentleman named Donald Groomer. The couple were married on February 26, 1977 in a elegant reception at the Manchester Arms apartment complex overlooking Denver's Botanical Gardens. "We were married in the presence of all of our children," Gloria remembered, "and our marriage certificate was signed by all five daughters which was special to me. Don blessed Gloria's life by giving her two additional daughters; 19-year-old Gretchen Ann, and 17-year-old Heidi Louise. The girls were from Don and his late wife, Helen's, marriage. The two young girls joined 22-year-old Patrish, 21-year-old Gale, and 19-year-old Carol in bringing untold joy to Gloria's life. Still more beauty contributed to Gloria's enjoyment of her family bouquet when grandchildren: Jenny, Greg, and Joan (Patrish's); Shauna and Ryan (Gale's); Andy and Peter (Gretchen's) were born. Don and Gloria enjoyed many trips throughout the United States and abroad. Most memorable overseas visit to Norway, Sweden, and England. "I was pleasantly surprised when people came up to me and starting speaking Norwegian!" Gloria laughed. "I noticed my resemblance to the people there, and it made me feel like I belonged to this Nordic race." However, by far the couple's favorite destination was to the breathtaking mountain town of Ouray, Co. "Ouray is a valley completely surrounded by the mountains, and a river runs through the town," Gloria recalled. "It is a quaint little Victorian town with a natural hot springs. The million dollar highway, carved out of the side of the mountain top winds its way into the charming little town. It is beautiful, but treacherous. We love to go there once a year if we can make it. Besides being one of the greatest cooks this world will ever know, Gloria was an avid antique collector, talented painter, great lover of kitties, and her home welcomed family and friends with her beautiful decorating coupled by the aroma of something fresh from the oven. Gloria loved to laugh, and sought humor where ever it could be found! Her somewhat shy, but loving personality was enjoyed by everyone who was fortunate enough to come into her presence. Her daughters where the very special recipients of Gloria's tender love which molded them into the loving, gracious women they are today. Gloria was a devoted member of the Catholic Church and a lover of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through this spiritual guidance, she instilled in her girls a love of the Lord and a distinct sense of right and wrong. "My most fulfilling experience has been motherhood," said Gloria. "It was amazing and I was in awe of how special I felt being a mother." "I hope to live a long time," Gloria added. "I hope people can become kinder to the helpless in our society; the babies, the children, the elderly, and the animals. I believe in the value of life. Therefore, I am against abortion." "I am against the destruction of wild places. I feel we should save these places for our future generation, so our grandchildren and their grandchildren can visit the wilderness and see for themselves the natural beauty of our Earth." "The one message I want to give the reader of this book is to, 'Go forth and be happy.' We don't have long on this earth, so try not to stew and fret over the little things." "I hope that my family, their descendents, and my friends will enjoy these passages, and come to know me better." Gloria Nadine (Johnson, Nelson, Donelan) Groomer 1928 to 2006.