116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Obituaries
The Gazette publishes obituaries on a daily basis. Use the search field above to search for obituaries by name or keyword. Readers can submit an obituary or submit a milestone to The Gazette. The obituary must be submitted before 1 p.m. for publication on thegazette.com at 6 p.m. and in the daily edition the next day, with the exception of obituaries for Sunday publication, which must be submitted by 1 p.m. on Fridays.
Mona Gross
MONA GROSS
Cedar Rapids
Mona Morgan Gross born Jan. 4, 1925, in Portland, Maine, to William and Laura (Hamilton) Morgan, slipped into eternity on Sunday, June 29, 2014.
Mona was a classy, strong-willed, intellectually curious, resilient woman, whose sense of humor and love of fun turned her life of challenges into wonderful adventures. From a
rootless childhood lived all over the United States, she joined the war effort, first by helping build B-17 bombers and later enlisting in the Navy Waves. After World War II, she married Daniel Cole McMartin Jr. and settled in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where she built life-long friendships with other strong women raising children in the 1950s model. The social turmoil of the 1960s marked the end of her first marriage, which was followed by
marriage to Robert C. Gross. When that marriage ended more than a decade later, she pragmatically went to work as an optician, quickly rising in the ranks to district manager for Service Optical.
In retirement, she would spend her winters in Anguilla with her best friend, before moving to Grand Rapids, Mich., in her 80s due to declining health. Over the last nine years of her life, she forged new friendships while searching out Grand Rapids' best restaurants. She loved good food!
She had always said what she was most proud of in her life were her five children, Kate Cragwall, Laura Maune, Mary Testa, Cole McMartin III and Lisa Jones. All, but Cole, survive her, along with their spouses, Richard Paschke, Ernest Maune, Ken Testa and Chris Jones.
She is also survived by eight cherished grandchildren, Chris Maune, Jack Cragwall, Julia Testa, Olivia, Ethan and Delaney Jones, David Paschke and Elizabeth Van Der Meulen.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. July 19 at Obrien-Eggebeen-Gerst Chapel, 3980 Cascade Rd., Grand Rapids, Mich. The family will greet visitors one hour before the service.
Gifts in memory of Mona may be made to the Greater Grand Rapids Chapter of the American Red Cross, 1050 Fuller NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503.
The family would like to thank the staffs of Diamond Health and Spectrum Health Hospice for making Mona's final journey full of wonderful people with loving hearts.
Daily Newsletters