To put it simply, Jenny Grounds, “was a dandy.” She was a wonderful and “high-flying” lady, who lived life to the fullest.
Genevieve M. “Jenny” Grounds, of Marion, died early Monday morning, December 27, 2010, at the Marion General Hospital with her loving husband and co-pilot by her side every possible moment. She was 85 years old.
On April 11, 1925, Jenny was born in Marion, the daughter of the late Colonel and Frances (Kehrwecker) Kester. When she was only four years old, Jenny lost her mother and sister during childbirth, and she was then raised by her late aunt and uncle Eugene and Alice (Kester) Donaugh.
A lifelong resident of Marion, Jenny graduated from Marion Harding High School in the Class of 1943, where she enjoyed playing the French horn in the orchestra and band.
From graduation until retirement, Jenny worked as a secretary at McMillen Feed Mills, George Kennedy Ford Garage, Maxon Construction Company, Monsanto Chemical Company, J.H. Maish Advertising, and lastly at Folks Creative Printers, from where she retired in 1990.
A few years after graduating, Jenny met a showboating roller skater at the Highway Roller Arena on SR 309, Malcolm “Mac” Grounds, a veteran of the Navy who had just returned from serving our country during World War II. He was instantly smitten with Jenny, and after much persistence he finally convinced her to go on a date with him…and the rest was history. Finding a special love in one another, Jenny and Mac were married on July 6, 1947, at the Greenwood E.U.B. Church in Marion.
In the 1960’s, Jenny encouraged Mac to learn to fly, which he did under the condition that she too learned to fly to be able to be his co-pilot. She took quickly to flying, finding she had a knack for it. She and Mac enjoyed flying their plane to Las Vegas on numerous occasions, Key West, Florida, and all over Ohio.
Their love of traveling did not end with just flying, as they took countless trips driving out west together to see the sights and soak in the history. For their golden 50th wedding anniversary, Jenny and Mac took a special trip around the world to Australia, Morocco, Spain, and Egypt for over a month, with hopes of also traveling to India, and Pisa, Italy.
In the past few years, Jenny’s health has suffered, but her and Mac’s relationship only grew stronger. Mac lovingly cared for her night and day, and they cherished their love for one another. They shared over sixty three magical years together.
An excellent cook, Mac firmly believed Jenny made “the very best baked spaghetti in all of Marion. She made it for him, nearly every time he got hungry. She also enjoyed teaching him how to make it after, when she was no longer able to cook.
In addition to flying and traveling, Jenny enjoyed making ceramics, bowling, knitting, crocheting, sewing, reading, and working cross-word puzzles. She also loved watching football, basketball and baseball, and most especially her beloved Ohio State Buckeyes.
Jenny had been a past member of the Marion Senior Center, the Women of the Moose, Marion Chapter #448, the Ninety-Nines Ladies Pilot Association, the Marion Women’s Bowling Association, and the National Secretaries Association. She had also been a member of the Primrose Bell Ringers, and she “loved to ring them bells.”
She will be dearly missed by her husband, Mac Grounds of Marion; a sister, Shirley (Lawrence) Oiler of Marion; two nieces: Rita Kay (Dave) McCabe of Mansfield, and Christine Bruner of Cleveland; five sisters and brothers-in-law: Anna (Albert) Ferriman of Marion, Jesse “Tiny” Bowen of Baltimore, Maryland, Mary Martin, Dwight Grounds, and Barbara Debolt, all three of Marion; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews, as well as several great and great-great nieces and nephews.
Including her parents, Jenny was preceded in death by her infant sister, Jessie Arlene Kester; brother, Edgar Donaugh; sister and brother-in-law, Barbara and Lester Thomas; and brother-in-law, James “Junior” Grounds.
The Grounds family will greet friends from 5 – 7 p.m. on Thursday, December 30, 2010, at the Denzer-Farison-Hottinger & Snyder Funeral Home, 360 E. Center St., Marion. Services honoring her life will also be held there on Friday at 11:00 a.m., with Hospital Chaplains Dan Kiger and Marcellus de Oliveira officiating. Burial will follow in Marion Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association or the American Lung Association, and they may be sent to the care of the funeral home.
For those wishing to express their condolences online to Jenny’s family, you may do so by visiting www.snyderfuneralhomes.com.
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