Colleen Rae Gruntorad

Deweese, NE., resident Colleen Rae (Nowka) Gruntorad, 73, was called by our Heavenly Father to be his angel on Monday, May 24, 2021, at the Nebraska Heart Hospital in Lincoln, NE. A Rosary will be prayed at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, May 27, 2021, at Our Lady of Assumption Catholic Church in Deweese, NE. Mass of Christian Burial will be conducted at 10:30 a.m., Friday, May 28, 2021, at Our Lady of Assumption Catholic Church in Deweese, NE., with Father Corey Harrison officiating. Interment will follow the service at St. Martin’s (Loucky) Cemetery near Deweese, NE. Visitation will be one hour prior to the Rosary and one hour prior to the Mass. Memorial Contributions may be directed to the family to be designated later. Colleen (Nowka) Gruntorad was born November 5, 1947, in Hastings, NE., to Raymond and Fern (Lee) Nowka. She received her high school diploma from Harvard High School in Harvard, NE. She began her nursing career in the 1960s as a nurse’s aide in the skilled care unit of Perkins Pavilion at the Good Samaritan Village in Hastings, NE., for four summers and on the weekends while she was in high school. She attended Kearney School of Practical Nursing after being encouraged by her supervisor at the Village to receive her Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) diploma. She married Adrian Gruntorad on April 27, 1968, in Harvard, NE. She worked in hospitals and doctor’s offices in Hastings, Ainsworth, and Grand Island after receiving her LPN diploma. After moving to Deweese, NE., she returned in 1986 to Good Samaritan Village in Hastings in the Perkins Pavilion for 26 years before retiring with 47 years of service in nursing. Colleen was named the 1990 Employee of the Year for the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society in her local sector in April 1990. This honor was bestowed to her by her fellow colleagues due to her commitment to the mission, representation in the community, respect earned from fellow staff and residents, and exemplification of Christian values and commitment. From this award, she was then put in the running in June 1990 for the national competition at the Good Samaritan headquarters in Sioux Falls, SD., and won the 1990 Good Samaritan Staff Member of the Year. Good Samaritan had over 300 facilities in 25 states at the time. She was a member of Our Lady of Assumption Catholic Church in Deweese, NE. Her hobbies included gardening, fishing, being outside, helping others, and working with her husband. Colleen is survived by her husband, Adrian Gruntorad of Deweese, NE; her daughter and son-in-law, Sheri and Phillip Fuchs of Oxford, NE; her two grandchildren, Daniel Fuchs of Oxford, NE; and Matraisha Fuchs, of Indianapolis, IN; her sister, Jolene Johnson, of Hastings, NE; her brother and sister-in-law, Ed and Diane Nowka, of Grand Island, NE; and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents and her in-laws, Rudolph and Hellen Gruntorad.

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Colleen Rae Gruntorad

November 5, 1947 - May 24, 2021