Obituary of Frances Grinder

Frances Grinder (nee Goodridge), age 83, of Lore City, OH, died Dec. 4 2009 of complications following heart surgery. Born to Howard and Florence Goodridge, on July 3, 1926, she was raised with her six brothers and sisters in Barberton, OH. She wed Harold Grinder on August 3, 1946 and raised six sons in that same east side neighborhood of her youth.  Together they made the kinds of memories only the parents of boys could truly understand. Our family spent time together laughing about the escapades of those boys, with Frances encouraging each of them to own up to his part in whatever story was told.  She was a beloved grandmother and great-grandmother to more than 30 grandchildren, who especially enjoyed hearing those stories.  Frances worked for many years at Sun Rubber Co. in Barberton.  She was very proud and fond of her Sun Rubber days and stayed in touch with “the girls” throughout her life.  She spoke of those friends even in her final days.  She also worked part-time at O’Neils in Akron and remembered taking the trolley downtown to work each day.  In her retirement years, she also took pleasure in her brief time as caregiver to her granddaughter Allyson. A die-hard Indians fan, she knew the players and was always willing to talk about last night’s game and commiserate about a bad play or wrong call. A life-long reader, Frances enjoyed books and often traded bags of paperbacks with her granddaughters.  She enjoyed country music along with music from the 40s and 50s, Tony Bennett, Dean Martin, and Perry Como. She also enjoyed crocheting and passed on the skill to her oldest grandchild, Genenia.  Frances greeted each new grandchild with a beautiful afghan at birth. Frances lived her later days with Harold in rural Lore City, Ohio, where she enjoyed porch-swing visits with her children and grandchildren. Frances is preceded in death by sons James and Mickey;  brothers Lester and Harry; and sisters Martha and Doris.  She is survived by husband Harold; sons Eugene (Sue), Edward (Clara), Ronald (Debbie), and Timothy (Linda); brother  Art  Goodridge, sister Carol Sauber (Pat), and thirty grand and great grandchildren. Funeral service will be held Tuesday 1 PM at Redmon Funeral Home, where friends may call from 11 AM until service time.  Burial Greenlawn Memorial Park.  Should friends desire, memorials may be made to St. Paul’s Moore Memorial United Methodist Church,   803 Wooster Road North, Barberton 44203. Mrs. Grinder's video tribute may be seen here.