Nettie R. Hersemann Gruber

EAST PEORIA- Nettie R. (Hersemann) Gruber, 82, died on Mother’s Day, May 11, 2014 at Unity Point Health Methodist in Peoria. She was born February 7, 1932 in Henderson County, Tennessee to Curtis and Wilda Franks Maness. She married Coy Holt in Corinth, Mississippi in 1949. She later married Laverne Hersemann in 1969 in Peoria. After 42 years of marriage he preceded her in death. She is survived by her husband, Paul Gruber, whom she married on August 25, 2012. She is also survived by one daughter, Donna (Larry) Bruell of East Peoria and one son, Danny (Delores) Holt of East Peoria; five step children, Kevin Hersemann, Deidre Williams, Helen Bennett, David (Diane) Gruber and Terry (Sharon) Gruber; three granddaughters, Andrea Holt, Hollie Holt, and Tracey (Toni Lenzi) Vogelsang; five great-grandchildren; several step-grandchildren and step great-grandchildren; and her sister, Sandra (Jackie) Attaway. She was also preceded in death by her parents and two siblings, James Curtis Maness and Jerry Maness. She attended school in Beech Bluff, TN, playing on the girls’ basketball team. She often helped her family on the farm and picked cotton in the fall. Nettie came to Peoria after her husband was recruited for work at Caterpillar in East Peoria. She worked at various jobs that allowed her to take summers off to raise her children. Nettie was a member of the Richland Baptist Church, East Peoria, IL for many years. More recently, she became a member of First Baptist Church in Washington and also attended WhiteRose Fellowship Church in Bellevue. Nettie was a devoted grandmother who loved spending time with her family, camping with her ‘gang’, shopping at flea markets and returning home to Tennessee to visit family and friends. She was an excellent gardener, a voracious reader and an accomplished seamstress who made many beautiful things for her children and grandchildren over the years. A funeral service for Nettie will be held Thursday, May 15, 2014 at 11:00AM at Deiters Funeral Home and Crematory in East Peoria. Pastor Josh Monda will officiate. There will be a visitation one hour prior to the service, from 10:00-11:00AM. Burial will be at Fondulac Cemetery in East Peoria. Memorial contributions may be made to the First Baptist Church in Washington.

Nettie R. Hersemann Gruber

February 7, 1932 - May 11, 2014